UPDATE: Monday church service cancelled due to damage from water main break
Rosemont Baptist Church says it will hold regular services Sunday
UPDATE 10 P.M. JULY 18, 2022
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A water main break early Monday morning leaving many homes in the Rosemont Garden neighborhood, off of Clays Mill Road and Lane Allen, flooded. It also impacted Rosemont Baptist Church, which cancelled its Monday night services for this week and next because of the water damage.
Barbara West has been a member of Rosemont Baptist Church since 1976 and now serves as property chairman. She had a rude awakening Monday morning when the fire department called to say the church’s alarm system was going off. West says water from the water main break flooded the church basement, shorting the electrical system.
“The fire department came first thinking it was the fire alarm and that’s when the water was out there,” says West. “The water is deeper than the steps and was coming out the doors in the church.”
Rosemont Baptist is trying to stay positive through it all, saying it’s ‘just things’ that were ruined by the water and luckily no one was hurt. But the price point for all of the damages? West says she doesn’t know for sure but would guess a couple million dollars.
“Our new kitchen that we had just remodeled recently, all of our Sunday school rooms that were down there, our boiler system is down there, all of our electrical system is down there, of course you have chairs and all that stuff from Sunday school departments and all that’s floating,” says West. “Floating up the steps, it’s kind of funny to see couches floating in the hallways.”
Rosemont Baptist also has a scout house for Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts behind it that was damaged by the water main break. The coordinator says a pump was helping to keep the flood waters down until power had to be shut off by KU.
“We got about 8 inches of water, a lot of wet gear, maybe throwing out some food that we needed to pitch anyways. But as far as anything really lost, we got real lucky,” says Guy Weinberger, the charter organizational representative.
The church says it will continue with Sunday services since the sanctuary is OK. Rosemont Baptist says in times like these, it’s important to remember it’s not the building but the people that make a church.
Kentucky American Water released the following update about the water main break:
“Kentucky American Water is taking final steps in the repair process on the Rosemont Garden water main that broke early [Monday] morning. Water service has been restored to those affected.
The company will continue final steps to extract water from areas affected and plans to conduct additional restoration efforts [Tuesday].”
Rosemont Baptist says until the insurance company is able to look at the damages, it doesn’t know what support is needed. You can check out the church’s Facebook page for updates at the link HERE.
ORIGINAL STORY
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – People on Rosemont Garden, just off Clays Mill Road, are recovering after a major water main break early Monday morning.
Homeowner Tiffany Hoover expressed lots of understandable frustration and sadness: her home is now badly damaged due to the water main break.
“My things. My neighbor’s things. We knew once the water got in the basement, it was going to be a lot of water. And it’s still just pouring through the walls. Everything in there is just a loss,” said Hoover.
According to the Lexington Fire Department, crews got to the scene around 5 AM. Fire officials say when crews got there, it was a much bigger problem than they thought, damaging a total of three properties, including Hoover’s house.
“I just woke up out of the blue and the Fire Department was out front. And I could hear the water running through the house and running through the basement. You could hear the water main break and shooting up into the sky,” said Hoover.
She says her basement and outbuilding are both total losses, and she’s now worried about the house’s foundation. Distraught, Hoover says the house has been in the family for generations.
“My grandpa built this in the ’30s. So this has always been our family home,” said Hoover.
She says she and her neighbors are frustrating, saying they wished both the utility and water companies had responded faster to the problem.
For now, she’s talking with her insurance agency and salvaging what she can.
“Our pictures are lost. Everything that’s in the basement is just a loss. It’s all just…floating,” said Hoover.
ABC 36 reached out to Kentucky American Water for a statement on what happened.
According to Kentucky American Water, crews will continue to asses the the 16-inch water main break:
“Kentucky American Water crews and contractors remain on site at Rosemont Garden near Clays Mill Road working to continue with water extraction and then start the water main repair process, which we expect to begin within the next hour.
One customer is currently without water service.
The main break occurred due to natural causes.”
