After a video on social media showing dark brown water funneling out of the Lostro building from a hose into the street during construction surfaced, online users expressed frustration and brought up City Municipal Codes.
The Lostro building, located on the corner of South Court and West Union streets, is currently undergoing construction to become a new boutique hotel. The developer, Indus Hotels, bought the building for $1.55 million in October 2023.
The building has since been the site of ongoing construction, raising concerns about the city’s regulation of local developers and support of local businesses.
According to Service-Safety Director Andy Stone, the city received original notice of this incident about two weeks ago and has been working with the contractor since to ensure the water is properly handled.
Stone said the water was coming from an elevator shaft that is being constructed inside the Lostro building.
“You have to excavate in order to do that, typically below your lowest level,” Stone said. “And if you've got a high aquifer in that area, water will seep into that space, and that's what's happening in this particular situation.”
Stone said the company is pumping through a filter pack which removes the dirt from the water, and the water then travels to the street. According to Stone, the content of the water in the street is the same as any groundwater in Athens.
Environmental Coordinator Steve Adams also said the water exiting the building is being filtered through a compost filter sock. This piece has three filters, all to remove sediment.
Anything that gets through the three filters from the filter sock stays in a separate line. Adams said this line looks like any sump pump from any basement.
According to Adams, the developers are abiding by Athens City Code Title 27, as the water is clean and natural following the filtering process. Title 27 says before any water from construction enters the stormwater, it must be filtered. Adams said this is standard practice.
Title 27 reads, “The potential for sediment pollution of water resources shall be addressed both by minimizing erosion at the development site and by filtering development site runoff to remove suspended sediment."
As of close of business Feb. 11, referring to the final stage of construction for the work day, Lostro developers have begun transporting the groundwater to the city sanitary.
Adams noted the water will never stop coming up and will continue to be transported to the sanitary site, just like if residents flush a toilet.
