Santa Maria Courthouse flooded

Flooding at the Santa Maria Courthouse is causing a major headache for court officials.

A pipe broke during the early part of July on a weekend, and standing water caused major damage. Officials tell us two departments have been closed and will remain that way for at least two months.

The Civil and Family Law departments were the affected offices and courtroom. Representatives say they’ve been shuffling cases to other courtrooms and so far there is no backlog of cases needed to be tried, but the mess has created a major headache.

“Two of the courtrooms approximately 6,000 feet with 2 to 3 inches of water and it was hot water and it ran all weekend so it’s created some serious problems for the carpeting of the walls and the furnishing so now it all has to be ripped and repaired,” said Court Executive Officer Darrel Parker.

Parker said so far there is no estimate as to how much the damage and renovations will cost the city.

He also said there are other issues being addressed such as graffiti and cases of urine and feces around the courthouse.