‘It’s ridiculous’: Residents without running water in public housing

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Several public housing residents have been going on a week now without proper running water.

Some blocks in the Eastside Public Housing neighborhood were notified by the Charleston Housing Authority on Oct. 1 to expect their water to be turned off, but did not specify for how long. Some of the streets impacted are Jackson Street, Harris Street and Hanover Street.

Now, after days of uncertainty, some neighbors are just now getting their water back to normal, but others can’t say the same.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous, really. It is. It doesn’t make sense for us to be living like this. You know, it’s like they are treating us like animals,” an impacted resident, Eunice Samuels, says.

Samuels and some of her neighbors have been without proper running water since last week, leaving them with toilets that aren’t flushing and faucets with little water pressure.

“I have bought bottle water to drink. And everybody said, “Why don’t you use that to wash?” No, no, that’s for me to drink. I’m not drinking that water out this faucet. This is what I’m going to drink, out the bottle,” Samuels says.

Charleston Housing Authority Public Information Officer Vernon Graham said this stems from an 80-year-old pipe bursting.

“We certainly do apologize to our residents for the inconvenience that they’re experiencing. We, too, are experiencing an inconvenience in our own offices, negatively impacted by this water main break,” Graham says.

To the residents living here, Samuels said this isn’t just an inconvenience; this is a health issue, one they don’t get to escape when the work day is done.

“You don’t live in the office. We live here. When you leave from here, you go home. You have water to wash, to do your dishes and cook. We can’t do anything,” Samuels says.

“Even though I put on deodorant and stuff, I’m walking around like okay I’m good for another hour too when it starts getting real bad because it’s hot,” she adds.

As for a completion date for repairs, Graham said they aren’t able to provide one.

“They appeared to be fine, but then they failed. And when they did, we notified the residents as soon as we were aware of the situation,” Graham said.

In the meantime, the South Carolina Tenant Union has provided gallons of water and information for impacted residents, something Samuels and neighbors say the housing authority is not doing.

Graham encourages you to reach out to the appropriate property manager to talk about the options available.

“I would advise any resident who is negatively impacted to contact their property manager, and we’re not leaving any option on the table. All options are available to us to address their issue. I would ask them to contact the property manager directly,” Graham said.

When asked what options would be available for residents, he said that would be up to the property manager and dependent on each case. To find the designated property manager, you can find information here.

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