‘Not a quick fix’: Hundreds at Brittany Village without water

By Jenna Wilson

A water main break at Brittany Village Apartments has left hundreds of residents without water, some for over a week.

St. Joseph’s Community Action Partnership was contacted by management at Brittany Village last week, stating that 13 of their 28 buildings had water main breaks, severe flooding and tenants were without water access.

“At the time we were contacted last week, about 156 units were affected,” said Whitney Lanning, CAP executive director. “By Friday, two more units had gone down. They had plumbers out working on it, but things like that are not quick fixes by any stretch of the imagination.”

Second Harvest Community Food Bank, the United Way of Greater St. Joseph, the St. Joseph School District and various other agencies are working together to provide tenants with the resources they need for the time being.

Agencies have provided bottled water, hygiene products and some tenants are currently using the few units that are still functioning to access water and maintain personal hygiene.

While several groups are working together to have the issue resolved, Lanning said there’s no timeline for when it will be fixed, which is concerning for the many families who live there.

“Right now, there’s only three units they’re able to provide,” she said. “Of course, when you think of over 150 apartments, all of the tenants and family members in those apartments, that’s not a lot. It’s hard to go to school, learn and grow when you don’t have access to water and you’re dealing with parents that are stressed and upset, all those things but I can say everyone is doing the best they can and working together to keep those tenants as comfortable as possible.”

This comes after tenants raised concerns in August about rats roaming around the complex, along with other water and utility issues over the years. Officials say these are problems that need to be fixed for good in order for the apartment complex to be viable in the future.

“There’s standing water in many of the apartments and their basements, which is going to cause another realm of problems here in the not-too-distant future,” Lanning said. “The challenges that they’ve had, it’s not a quick fix for any of it because there’s so many buildings and having Britney Village go offline would really be devastating to a community that already struggles with not having enough safe and affordable housing at every level.”