COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Officials are assessing water damage at the Ohio Statehouse after a pipe burst during freezing weather, sending water pouring into the Senate chamber, an adjacent lounge for lawmakers, and other areas on Tuesday morning.
Retiring state Sen. Jay Hottinger tweeted video showing water falling from a ceiling into an overflowing container and pooling across the patterned carpet of the empty Senate floor, adding that his last day at the Statehouse was “not going very well.”
My last day at the Statehouse not going very well. @OhioStatehouse pic.twitter.com/UsRSR1pFuh
— Senator Jay Hottinger (@JayHottinger) December 27, 2022
Hottinger told The Columbus Dispatch that water also streamed down stairs and pooled outside Gov. Mike DeWine’s ceremonial office before the flow was shut off.
Laura Battocletti, executive director of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board that maintains the Statehouse, told reporters that workers were drying things out by afternoon and starting to evaluate any damage.
It isn’t expected to affect the scheduled start of the new legislative session next week.
