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Atlanta, Georgia (WGCL) — For more than a week, life hasn’t exactly been normal for people living at The District at Vinings Apartment Homes in Atlanta.
“It’s not ideal, but the leasing office is doing the best they can with a bad situation, and they’re treating us alright, and quite honestly, I’m meeting more of my neighbors in the shower,” said tenant Dave Drabik.
Management brought in 64 mobile shower units when a gas leak left them without hot water in their homes.
“My husband and I have actually been boiling water and taking baths that way just because we don’t feel comfortable using the portable showers,” said tenant Falande Swain.
Atlanta Gas Light determined the apartment complex was responsible for repairing the leak since it was on their side, but nine days later, the problem still exists.
Keith Jones said a cold shower is not an option for him and his 2-year-old son, and the mobile showers aren’t much better.
“Sometimes it doesn’t work in there. It’s over-flooded and sometimes they don’t keep it clean,” said Jones.
While it has been a hassle, most people we spoke with were pleased that apartment management is trying to help by discounting rent 50 percent each day they’re without hot water.
“It took its toll on me, but I can kind of sympathize with their problem if they have an issue. They’ve been trying to fix it,” said tenant Advaidh Suresh
“Yeah they’re giving us a break on rent,” added tenant Dave Drabik. “That’s nice of them to do. I guess they kind of have to if you don’t have hot water, but it’s 50 ft. to the showers for me and I’m getting half of the rent and walk to the shower. That’s not bad.”
Management said that next week, a new phase of testing and repairs will begin to prevent this from happening again. Meanwhile, management said they are also cleaning the inside of the mobile showers twice daily, although we didn’t see that happen.
It doesn’t appear that any of the mobile showers are handicap accessible.
The complete statement from the apartment’s management is provided below:
Safety is our highest priority. At this time, natural gas service at The District at Vinings apartments has been deactivated due to leaks on the service lines owned by the apartment building. To ensure the safety of the residents, it was necessary for us to deactivate natural gas service from our pipeline to these lines. Our field service representatives have remained in contact with building management, including returning to the complex on multiple occasions to test the service lines after repairs were attempted; however, we continue to detect leaks. Once building management has made all necessary repairs, we can safely restore service to the complex.
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