Pipes burst at Linn County Courthouse, knocking out heat out at courthouse, jail

CEDAR RAPIDS — Malfunctions late Tuesday and early Wednesday at the Linn County District Courthouse and Linn County Jail sent a mixture of water and antifreeze spilling into courtrooms, judges chambers and the rear of the jail and left both the courthouse and jail without heat for hours.

It started when pipes burst Tuesday night in the courthouse, flooding the first floor with the mixture of water and antifreeze and preventing the two bottom floors from having heat.

If that wasn't bad enough, a header on the boiler system at the jail on May's Island broke Wednesday morning, causing a joint pipe to burst and dumping about 500 gallons of the watery mixture.

This break shut off all heat to the jail and courthouse.

On Wednesday, courthouse staff were bundled up in coats, scarves and gloves as they worked with only limited space heaters to provide a little warmth on the second floor and main lobby.

Maj. Pete Wilson, the jail administrator, said Wednesday morning that the jail had maintained its heat but officials would monitor it throughout the day and bring in portable space heaters if needed.

Jim Houser, a Linn County supervisor who surveyed the damage Wednesday, said alarms had alerted officials about 8 p.m. Tuesday to the pipe break. Crews worked overnight to clean up the courthouse damage.

Carroll Edmondson, 6th Judicial District Court administrator, said fans continued to run Wednesday in the office areas and hallways to dry floors and carpets. A strong odor lingered on the first floor, but Edmondson said workers began blowing air from trucks outside to eliminate the smell.

Julie Green, administrative secretary, said the flooding affected three courtrooms and five office areas. Computers and some office furnishings were destroyed.

Most of the court proceedings and judges were moved from the damaged side of the first floor so hearings could continue.

Supervisor Houser said the antifreeze that spilled was non-toxic. He said the odor had dissipated by later in the day.

Heat was expected to be restored to the courthouse and jail around midnight Wednesday, Houser said.

He said officials did not know yet of the damage was caused by a product defect or an installation failure. But he noted that an old heating system had been replaced in 2010, after the 2008 flood.

'We're trying to be proactive and find any additional problems, so we can prevent this from happening again,' Houser said.

The Board of Supervisors likely will approve funds to make the repairs at its meeting Monday, Houser said. On Wednesday the board authorized $10,000 to assess the problem and see what needed to be done.