Dominion, Columbia Housing Authority disagree over source of gas leak reported Friday
Dominion Energy discovered a leak near a public housing complex in Columbia on Saturday, but the utility and the Columbia Housing Authority disagree about whether that leak led to the voluntary evacuation of several families.
In a statement issued late Monday, Dominion said that its crews surveyed the utility’s facilities near the St. Andrews Terrace Apartments on Saturday after a leak was reported in the complex the day before. The survey detected a leak near one of the company’s underground gas lines, and the company repaired it.
“We confirmed that the detected leak had been contained within the immediate vicinity of our underground gas line and is unrelated” to the leak reported by at least one resident on Friday, said a spokesperson for Dominion.
Earlier Monday afternoon, the Columbia Housing Authority reported that Dominion had discovered a problem with a pipe underneath the apartments that caused the leak detected by a resident. The problem was discovered at about 8 p.m. Saturday, said Ivory Mathews, CEO of the Columbia Housing Authority.
“Dominion did make repairs to those underground pipes,” Mathews said. “There was no harm to the families.”
The State has reached out to Mathews for a comment about Dominion’s statement.
Gas at the complex was cut off Friday afternoon after the Columbia Fire Department responded to a complaint. The gas is still shut off.
On Friday, the housing authority said it was voluntarily relocating 24 families out of an abundance of caution because of the gas leak. On Monday, Mathews said 10 families opted to stay at a hotel paid for by the housing authority. Some families stayed at the apartment complex even though the gas had been shut off. The families that stayed were offered $500 to cover any expenses incurred as a result of the gas shutoff.
“Of course rightfully so there were handful of residents who were concerned but we’ve assured them that we’ve brought in the professionals and are going through all the proper protocols,” Mathews said.
In 2019, the housing authority came under fire after two residents died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the now-shuttered Allen Benedict Court public housing complex. A subsequent city investigation found 869 code violations, including missing carbon monoxide detectors, faulty fire alarms, and exposed wires.
Mathews said what happened at St Andrews Terrace over the weekend was the result of a routine infrastructural problem as opposed to years of deferred maintenance and code violations, as was the case at Allen Benedict Court.
“This property was built in the 1970s but it had some renovations done several years ago and is in pretty good shape,” she said.
