Damage could reach millions of dollars after a broken pipe flooded courtrooms and offices and damaged computers and other high-tech equipment at the Thomas Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis.
Jim Woodward, clerk of the U.S. District Court, said a maintenance worker arrived about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to find flooding on several floors of the courthouse parking garage. He tracked the water to a leak in a holding cell on the 17th floor of the 29-story, 11-year-old building.
Woodward says courtrooms on the 17th floor and several floors below it were damaged, along with many offices. Ceilings, walls, floors and event judge's benches were damaged.
Woodward says undamaged courtrooms will be shared, possibly for months, and hearing schedules adjusted.
The cost of repair has not been determined.