COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Multiple streets and homes in north Columbus are flooded after a water main break.
The water main break was reported on Annadale and Martindale drives near Olentangy River Road.
About a dozen homes are affected by the flooding, which city officials say was caused by a break in a 20-inch water main on the north side of the neighborhood.
Residents say the sound wall that separates them from S.R. 315 actually acts like a dam in situations like this. They say there has never been adequate drainage in the area.
Even as the water continued to pour into this tiny neighborhood, longtime resident James Hedrick hunkered down with his dogs, Bear and Belle and refused to leave. “The city would not take the dogs in the boat. They come for me but not the dogs.”
The water filled Hedrick’s basement and kept coming. Still, he would not leave out of concern for his dogs. “I didn’t know how high the water was going to come up,” Hedrick said. “If it came up to the kitchen counters, I don’t think they’d have a chance so I had to stay with them. I’d drown with them if I had to.”
Hedrick’s home was one of the hardest hit homes.
Homeowner Dean Cotterill felt fortunate that he doesn’t have a basement. “My neighbors that’ve got basements – everything’s gone,” Cottrill said. “Furnaces – gone, A C is gone. I was lucky to get my car out. Yeah, it sucks.”
Some basements filled with seven feet of water and then just enough to make a mess on the first floor as well.
Eric Griffiths has a flooded basement and assumes his furnace and hot water tank are ruined. He’s not hopeful that his loss will be covered.
“My wife talked to the insurance company and it doesn’t sound like we’re going to be covered for a city water main break,” Griffiths said.
The Red Cross offered emergency food and shelter to residents. They urged James Hedrick to leave his home until some repairs could be made but again he refused to leave. “Yeah, I’m staying here tonight,” Hedrick said. “My electric is on and I’ve got heaters. I’ve got three heaters. I’ll put one here, one here and one in the bedroom.”
As a precautionary measure, customers in the following area are advised to boil all water used for cooking and drinking for one minute until further notice. The boil advisory will affect customers within these directional boundaries.
- North: Henderson Road
- West: CSX railroad tracks
- East: State Route 315
- South: Exit ramp from SR 315 southbound to Olentangy River Road to the east of Olentangy River Road, and McConnell Drive to the west of Olentangy River Road
- Additionally, 3595 Olentangy River Road is within the boil water advisory
In lieu of boiling, bottled water may be used for drinking water until the boil alert is lifted for this area.
For those customers currently without water, we are expecting water service will be restored by around midnight.
Ohio Health closed several facilities for the day due to the break.
· McConnell Heart Health Center, 3773 Olentangy River Road
· McConnell Spine Sport and Joint Center, 3773 Olentangy River Road
· Big Red’s Lodges, 3773 Olentangy River Road
· Max Sports Medicine, 3705 Olentangy River Road, Suite 260
· OhioHealth Heart and Vascular Physicians, 3705 Olentangy River Road, Suite 100
· OhioHealth Outpatient Behavioral Health, 3820 Olentangy River Road
· OhioHealth John G. Gerlach Center for Senior Health, 3724-A Olentangy River Road
· Riverside Community Medicine, 549 Thomas Lane
If you had an appointment scheduled today at one of these facilities, you will be contacted in the coming days to reschedule.
These facilities will reopen once water service is restored. It is not currently known when repairs will be complete.
Olentangy River Road is not affected by the flooding. Columbus city water and sewer crews are on the scene working to shut down the break, and fix the leak.Keep checking NBC4i.com for real-time updates on this story. To get alerts for breaking news, grab the free NBC4 News App for iPhone or Android. You can also sign up for email alerts.
