City Hall water damage shuts Philly Council chambers

The weather has caused some flooding in Philadelphia City Hall, meaning that Thursday’s regular meeting could be moved to another room.

Public Property Commissioner Bridget Collins-Greenwald said subfreezing temperatures caused a pipe to rupture on the ninth floor of City Hall, spilling water all the way down to City Council Chambers on the fourth floor.

“What we have done is take an all-hands-on deck-approach,” she said Tuesday. “Everyone we had out in the field that wasn’t dealing with another incident out there came into City Hall.”

As City Hall workers assessed mopped up the water and assessed the damage, a contractor brought in special equipment to dry out the rug in Council chambers and mitigate any other damages.

“We don’t know the extent of the damage as of yet, we’re still doing that assessment,” Collins-Greenwald said. “It doesn’t seem that much, this was just a quick look-around.”

In 2002, a broken pipe resulted in about $2 million in water damage to Council chambers and the Mayor’s Reception Room