'I just want to move': Residents frustrated after second flood at apartment complex this year

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A second flood in a Milwaukee apartment complex has residents ready to pack their bags.

On Thursday, a flood at the Historic Lofts on Kilbourn had water raining down from the building's fifth floor.

"All of this came from it being, water, water, water, pouring down," Resident Wilthena Almond said.

Almond let CBS 58 into her fourth-floor apartment on Friday and explained that she was at work when a neighbor called and told her that their building was flooding.

"I'm like wait, is really bad? She said, 'Yes. There's water everywhere!'" Almond said.

A friend went to check on Almond's dog but did not hear her barking, as Almond said she normally would during an intense moment. Almond told her friend to save her dog's life by any means necessary.

"I'm like, 'Oh my god, kick the door in'," she said.

Now, her door needs to be fixed, and she said the company is considering charging her for the repairs.

"I told [management], 'No, I'm not paying for that.' If y'all was here, or the pipes were getting fixed right, that wouldn't have happened," she said.

Raina Lewis, a third-floor resident, said she felt disgusting having to sleep in her water-filled apartment after the flood.

"I just felt, ugh, like nasty," she said.

The American Red Cross confirmed to CBS 58 that the apartment management company told the non-profit they did not need to assist the tenants because no one was displaced.

"I asked, 'So, we're living in this wet building?' and he said, 'Yes.' I was like, 'Oh my god, this is terrible.' He's like, 'You'll be fine. You'll be fine,'" Lewis said.

CBS 58 reporter Stephanie Rodriguez tried to ask the on-duty manager about the incident Friday.

"Do you have any comment on the flooding that happened last night?" Rodriguez asked.

"Unfortunately, I can't comment at this time," the manager said.

Residents were told a pipe burst because a child was swinging from it. In January, cold weather was to blame for a similar flood on the lower levels of the building, which led to all residents being evacuated.

"It's March first, and our downstairs, all of the paneling is still gone. It's still moldy," Almond said.

For many residents, this is the final straw.

"I just want to move," Almond said.