South Columbia business to reopen after water main break shut it down
UPDATE 9/2: A spokesperson forLas Margaritas says the restaurant will reopen at 5:30pm Friday.
The restaurant was waiting on an inspection team to come confirm the restaurant’s water was safe to use before it reopened.
That team confirmed the restaurant water was safe around 4:00pm Friday.
UPDATE: Thursday, 5:00 p.m.:Las Margaritas and the First Midwest Bank had their water turned back on around 3 p.m. Thursday.
Brooks Plumbing fixed the break. According to the City of Columbia, because the water main was privately owned, they wouldn’t repair it.
The city turned the water back on for the restaurant and bank. But the health department is requiring testing for the restaurant before it can re-open. Testing takes about 24 hours for results to come back.
According to the property manager, Ervin Cable Construction will be taking care of the cost to fix the water main.
ORIGINAL STORY, 8/31: A utility company continued cleaning late Wednesday night after a water main break in south Columbia.
Water, mud and gravel remained in the parking lots of First Midwest Bank and Las Margaritas restaurant following the crew hitting the private line just after 5 p.m. on Southampton Drive. Ervin Cable Construction was burying a fiber optic line near the sidewalk when it hit the six-inch line, according to Randy Macon, who manages the properties.
Water went spilling through the parking lots and into the nearby lake, just south of Rock Bridge High School. The restaurant had to close early with the loss of water, and Macon wasn’t optimistic that either place would be able to open Thursday.
“We’ll have to do a lot of work inside, flushing [water] back out of the restaurant, so it’ll make sure it doesn’t mess up the lines there,” Macon said.
Macon added he and Garry Lewis Properties “clearly marked” the line before the company started digging. ABC 17 News asked Ervin Cable Construction for comment after business hours, and has not yet heard back.
Columbia Water and Light said the break temporarily stopped service to the nearby Swan Lake Apartments, managed by Macon, as well. Crews told ABC 17 News they were able to “isolate” part of the main to fix service there.
Swan Lake resident Trevor Parsons said he realized water was out when trying to wash his hands before dinner. He said it was the first major problem he’s had in a year of living there, and wasn’t too upset about the temporary outage.
