Repair costs undetermined for Westmoreland courthouse waterline break

Two weeks after a broken pipe caused water to cascade into four floors at the Westmoreland County Courthouse, officials still are assessing the cost of repairs.

Crews worked for nearly 24 hours to fix water damage caused when sub-zero temperatures led to a waterline break the evening of Dec. 25, county commissioners said Thursday. The break occurred in a janitor’s closet near the family court division on the fourth floor of the courthouse annex, an eight-story building between Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Water poured downstairs into the Domestic Relations office on the building’s third floor, through the law library below and into the courthouse lobby, officials said.

Because it was a Sunday and Christmas Day, only one park police officer was on duty at the courthouse when the waterline break was discovered.

Greensburg city police and fire crews were called for the initial cleanup.

More than 1,100 gallons of water had to be removed from the courthouse, officials said.

Damage was limited and required replacement of ceiling tiles on three floors, Commissioner Sean Kertes said. All repairs were finished before the courthouse reopened Dec. 27.

Costs for the repairs are still being tallied.

“I was on my way home from my in-laws’ when I saw the firetrucks and stopped in around 11:45 p.m. I saw the water damage and saw what was occurring,” Kertes said.

Commissioners on Thursday issued a proclamation praising the city’s emergency workers and the county’s public works crew for the cleanup and repairs.