Recent frigid temperatures led to burst water pipes at several Festus businesses, flooding them and forcing them to close temporarily, some longer than others.
A pipe recently burst at a building at 109 E. Main St. that houses Twin City Area Chamber of Commerce, Tree of Life Home Decor & Furnishings, Cobblestone Frame & Art Gallery and Dance Plus Studio, all of which had to close while repairs were made and the spaces were cleaned up.
Pipes also burst at two buildings that house businesses on East Gannon Drive in Gannon Plaza.
Michelle Hohmeier, owner of Tree of Life, said she discovered the problem at her business when she arrived at the building on Dec. 26.
“I came in around 9:30 a.m. and there was running water (from the burst pipe),” Hohmeier said. “The hallway, the dance studio and the chamber were flooded. We got flooded, too. We had to move everything out. The basement had 6 inches of water.”
She said Dec. 28 that she did not know when her business would reopen.
Mary Zebrowski, the chamber’s executive director, said the chamber office was significantly damaged.
“There was a pipe that burst in the building – it probably froze,” Hohmeier said. “I did go in. There was probably an inch or two of water in our office. It looks like the pipe burst over the Chamber of Commerce office and the ceiling fell. The landlord has contacted a cleaning crew. I still have to assess all the damage.”
Hohmeier said the chamber office has been closed since then and she doesn’t know when it will reopen.
Rick Fischer, owner of Cobblestone, said his business sustained relatively little damage but also had to close.
“I had some water downstairs, which I use to store things,” Fischer said Dec. 28. “The pipe burst on the other side of the building. No customers’ art was affected.”
Fischer said he didn’t have electricity in the shop for a while, so he had to close.
On Tuesday, Jan. 3, Fischer said his shop appeared to be the closest of any in the building to reopen.
“I think by the end of the week I’ll be up and running,” he said. “Their side of the building is pretty much tore up. They were drying it. The landlord’s had a restoration company working.”
The occupants do not know when the pipe burst and when water started pouring through the building.
“I was here for a while on Sunday (Dec. 25) finishing up some work,” Fischer said. “That was early Sunday. I didn’t hear anything. But, the pipe burst on the other side, so maybe I didn’t hear it.”
Gannon Plaza pipe burst
Jennifer Hunt said she found water from a burst pipe in her Edward Jones office, 1152 E. Gannon Drive, on Dec. 24.
“The pipe burst sometime after noon Dec. 24,” Hunt said Tuesday. “I had been working on some things Christmas Eve and after dinner stopped by the office, and that was when I discovered the pipe had burst. The water was flooding the office. The office was closed all of last week.”
She said she and her staff members were able to work remotely until reopening the office on Tuesday. but the repairs continue.
“We had 25 fans and dehumidifiers going,” Hunt said. “We believe it’s now dry. But, work on the ceiling and other work is still being done.”
Hunt said she heard about another building in the complex where a pipe burst recently, but no other information about that incident was available.