ST. LOUIS (CN) - It will cost $10 million to repair the St. Louis federal courthouse for damage done to 17 floors by a flood from an improperly fitted pipe.
The leak dumped about 8,000 gallons of water, which soaked 17 floors on the south side of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse during the evening of Aug. 24. The water destroyed drywall, carpeting, insulation, custom architectural millwork, wiring and electronics.
Jason Klumb, regional administrator for the General Services Administration, which manages federal property, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the bulk of the money, as much as $7.5 million, will go to the general contractor, J.E. Dunn Construction. The rest will go to internal and external auditors, a construction management firm and extra security since most of the work will be done at night. Klumb said contractors will also install a system to prevent that kind of unrestricted water flow, and a sophisticated leak-detection system.
The leak apparently began in a pipe behind a toilet in a holding cell on the 17th floor, when a bad fitting broke loose.
Officials hope to have the work completed by next summer.
When it was dedicated in 2000, the Eagleton was the biggest federal courthouse in the country, rising 29 oversized stories. Besides housing the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, it houses offices for several other federal agencies and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
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