Columbia business wants city to fix water problem
After fixing a water problem of its own, a Columbia business says the city won’t do anything about another water issue behind their property.
The owner of Robinson’s Cleaners, Kit Price, told ABC 17 News the city told them a stream of water flowing from behind their property and onto the Business Loop is groundwater.
But she disagrees, saying it hasn’t rained in weeks and the water flow to Business Loop has never stopped. Price said this has been a problem for years and she wants the city to fix the issue.
“There’s water down the business loop, it creates a huge ice dam in the winter, which creates a big hazard, it’s a constant source of complaint for drivers, they get mad about it,” she said.
Price said the water starts on the back of the property, then flows down through her parking lot and ends up on the Business Loop.
Price said the city sent her business a letter in January about a leaky boiler on her property that they said was part of the trickling down to the Business Loop.
She was cited by the city, according to court documents. Price said she fixed what the city told her to fix, but that the water problem still exists.
“The city said, okay, were going to dig and find out where this problem is and get it fixed,” Price said. “They dug, probably in March or so, and did some testing, decided it’s now called groundwater and that groundwater is not their problem.”
Price said the continuous water flow is ruining the concrete driveways of her business.
“They’ve cited me for my boiler issue, which I’ve fixed,” Price said. “So my question is, who is responsible for the problem? If we were responsible and fixed the problem here, then who is responsible for that problem down there?”
ABC 17 News put in calls to the city, including Columbia Water and Light, to find out more information about the issue. As of Monday night, calls had not been returned yet.
Robinson’s Cleaners pleaded not guilty to the ordinance violations in court Monday afternoon, saying they fixed the problem when the city approached them back in January.
