Water rushes into the Ohio State Senate after a pipe burst in the Statehouse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Officials are assessing water damage at the Ohio State Building after a pipe burst during freezing weather, causing water to gush into the Senate Chamber, adjacent lawmakers’ chamber and other areas Tuesday morning.

Outgoing state senator Jay Hottinger tweeted video showing water falling from the ceiling into an overflowing container and spread across the patterned carpet of the empty Senate Chamber, adding that his last day at the Statehouse “didn’t go well.”

My last day at the Statehouse is not going well. @OhioStatehouse pic.twitter.com/UsRSR1pFuh

— Senator Jay Hottinger (@JayHottinger) December 27, 2022

Hottinger told The Columbus Dispatch that water also ran down the stairs and accumulated outside Gov. Mike Devine’s grand office before the flow was shut off.

Laura Battocletti, executive director of the Capitol Square Supervisory and Advisory Board, which services the State House, told reporters that by noon, workers are drying things and beginning to assess any damage.

This is not expected to affect the scheduled start of a new legislative session next week.

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