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Tempers run high as seniors say water pressure is low or non-existent at St. Louis apartment building

"It's so exhausting living with no or low water. I just want water!" a frustrated resident said.

ST. LOUIS — Tenant after tenant is frustrated at Webster School Senior Apartments, located near 11th Street and Compton Place, north of downtown St. Louis.

"I have no water!" said Geraldine Duckett, who lives on the third floor of the apartment building.

"It's been going on like for three months. I'm filling mop buckets up with water to save and use it, " said Pamela Chapman, who lives on the second floor.

Some say for days, even weeks now, the water inside their units has dropped to barely a drip or completely dried up.

 "Yes, I'm tired of it because it's so exhausting," Duckett said.

The 68-year-old said that ever since she moved into her apartment three years ago, her water pressure has been low. It's gotten worse for the past two mornings.

"I turned on the faucet in my kitchen and nothing. I had to let it drip and drip to put drops of water on a towel so I can just wash my face before I went to my doctor's appointment," Duckett said.

She and many of her neighbors haven't been able to do their dishes, flush toilets or take baths, and they're running out of patience.

"I will ask the property managers here, do they care or do they just care about us paying rent? There are seniors on all levels, market rate, Section 8 and low-income living here. Many of us are on fixed incomes," Chapman said.

Forty-nine seniors live in the building.

Tenants said they've complained to George Robnett, whom they called "the on-site property manager."

"He always tells us, 'We're working on it, we're working on it.' So I kind of just let it go," Duckett said.

When 5 On Your Sider's Robert Townsend stopped by his office Thursday, Robnett declined to do an on-camera interview. However, he did say they're "dealing with a water pressure problem at the apartment building."

The problem, he said, was the result of a water main break near Penrose Street and Blair Avenue nearly a month ago. However, St. Louis City spokesperson Rasmus Jorgensen said that the break was fixed.

Jorgensen also said, "We have verified that there is water pressure in the area, so the problem appears to be internal to the building."

"I don't know when the city found out about the problem," 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge said. "I found out about it several weeks ago. I came over here to the building today, stopped by several apartments and talked to tenants about their concerns. I then reached out to the city after being here."

"I just want water!" Duckett said.

Late Thursday afternoon, the Metropolitan Urban League of St. Louis donated 95 cases of bottled water to seniors at the apartment building.

A city spokesman also said earlier Thursday that a city crew checked the water pressure in that neighborhood, and "it was normal."

The spokesperson also said the city will send a "plumbing inspector to the building to help identify the problem" on Friday.

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