Apartment complex in Atlanta still without water 10 days after storm

By Tori Cooper

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    ATLANTA (WANF) — Several residents at The Halsten at Vinings Mountain apartment complex told Atlanta News First they haven’t had running water in their units since Christmas Eve.

“I’ve been calling leaving several voicemails,” one resident said.

Many of the residents told Atlanta News First that nine days without water or any support from the property management or First Communities corporate is really starting to weigh on them.

“There’s no water flowing through these buildings. I had to go to the pool to fill up a bucket to be able to flush my toilet,” another resident said after going seven days without water flowing through her apartment.

Other residents said they want out of their lease agreements because of how this has been handled.

“Very inconvenient, very inhumane, people are using the bathrooms in their house and of course, they can’t flush,” another resident said.

Residents say each time they call the leasing office for help or to get a timeline on the water repairs, they said they are met with an audio recording that says, “At the sound of the tone, please tell us the problem you are experiencing, leave your name, apartment number and be sure to leave your phone number and your message will be transferred to a maintenance technician who will return your call momentarily.”

“No one ever calls you… nothing, just the automated message that says they’re working on it,” one resident said.

Last Thursday, First Communities corporate property management company that runs Halsten told Atlanta News First all leaks were expected to be repaired the next day after the water system broke during the holiday freeze.

“They were saying the water was going to be restored, and then the water was never restored,” a resident said on Monday.

When we reached back out Monday to First Communities, they said they had to disconnect the water after two new supply lines broke Sunday.

First Communities said plumbers have since fixed the issue and are standing by to address any new issues.

However, some residents said their water hasn’t been working since Christmas Eve, and over the course of the last nine days, water was never restored, and maintenance crews have yet to come by their units.

“I’m fed up, I can’t. I want to break my lease as soon as possible,” one resident said.

Atlanta News First asked First Communities whether they would now allow residents to get out of their lease without penalty and if they were providing water bottles to residents in the meantime.

First Communities didn’t answer those questions, but they did want to know the apartment units of the people Atlanta News First spoke to so that they could quote, “cure the situation.”

On Monday, First Communities released the following updated statement to Atlanta News First.

“Our staff and multiple plumbers remedied compromised water supply lines for more than a week brought on by the abnormal freezing temperatures. Water had been restored to all residents, but two new supply line breaks occurred yesterday resulting in additional temporary disconnections in an isolated area. Our staff and plumbing contractors responded quickly and remain on alert to tend to any new issues. We realize this has been a dreadful experience for some of our valued residents and will continue to do everything we can to restore any active condition as soon as possible. We are not specifically aware of the units that you are referring to at this time but please reply with the unit numbers to us and we’ll be glad to have the appropriate measures taken to cure the situation.” – First Communities

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