Busted water main floods Columbus Government Center, leaves building and courts closed

A busted water main on the top floor of the Columbus Government Center has closed the building and left officials struggling to clean up the mess and find alternate sites for scheduled court sessions.

The busted 2.5-inch pipe on the 12th floor was discovered about 3 a.m., Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Mike Massey said. Non-emergency workers are being told to stay away from the downtown facility as the repair and clean-up work is being done, Massey said.

City officials estimate that thousands of gallons of water escaped from the water main that feeds the building’s boiler over the weekend.

“We don’t need anyone other than emergency personnel coming to this building today,” Massey said.

One photo from inside an 11th-floor court room shows standing water on the floor. Massey said there is water damage to “many floors” and the sheriff’s office and city officials are working to assess that damage now.

City Manager Isaiah Hugley said that both 11th-floor courtrooms, one belonging to State Court Judge Andy Prather and the other to Chief Superior Court Judge Gil McBride, were underwater.

The damage appears to be most significant on the 5th to 12th floors, Hugley said. Water was cascading down through any available route from walls to elevator shafts to stairwells, Hugley said.

The damage was “significant,” Hugley said. City department heads and other officials were in the building early Monday morning, Hugley said.

Water to building has been cut off, Massey said, but what escaped from the busted line is continuing to work its way down.

Massey is working to find alternate locations for court proceedings scheduled to begin to today. Muscogee County Superior Court, State Court and Probate Court are among the courts operating in the building.

City Manager Isaiah Hugley sent an email to city employees early this morning telling them not to report to the Government Center.

Employees from ServPro, a private cleaning and restoration company, had been at the Government Center since shortly after 5 a.m.

The damage seems to be restricted to the main tower, Massey said.

The Sheriff’s department, which has its main office in the building, has set up a temporary command post in the parking lot south of the building.

This story was originally published June 18, 2018 at 7:53 AM with the headline "Busted water main floods Columbus Government Center, leaves building and courts closed."