NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Water problems persist across the Midstate following the winter storm, and some renters have been without water for four days now.
At Preakness Apartments in Antioch, having no water and a 6-month-old baby has been tricky for Anne Nkusi.
"It’s really hard; we’re supposed to cook for her because now we’re supposed to start giving her food," Nkusi said.
Another resident, who wants to remain anonymous, wonders why water was shut off for the entire complex.
"We bought bottled waters; we stayed at hotels," the resident said. And she's frustrated it's taken so long to get water back.
"You were there in your home, nice and warm, able to go in there with hot, running water and jump in your own tub, versus going to your family’s house or a hotel or whatever the case may be, where hundreds of us are without water — some of us wasn’t even able to go and get a bath," she said.
A representative with Hawthorne Residential Partners said they're working with plumbers to identify leaks before water is restored. It’s unclear when that could happen for the entire complex.
According to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, tenants do have some rights in these situations, but it depends on the scenario. First, tenants should check their lease to see who's responsible for fixing pipe problems, according to Elizabeth Leiserson.
"The other problem with burst pipe issues is there’s a lot of different things that may have caused it, and it’s possible that it’s actually a tenants’ fault." Leiserson said, "For example, if the tenant wasn’t keeping the heat on, or forgot to drip the pipes, that sort of thing... it might also be the landlord’s fault — they weren’t doing enough maintenance on the unit."
Leiserson said tenants should document everything, too.
"You should keep paying your rent until you’re able to talk to a lawyer," Leiserson said.
For now, apartment residents across the Midstate will be waiting for the water to come back on.
"To be honest, we are not happy because of this," Nkusi said.
Macon County is also dealing with a widespread water outage. In Red Boiling Springs and Lafayette, they're handing out bottled water at City Hall and the fire department.
And some good news out of La Vergne. Crews worked through the weekend to fix a water supply issue. They were able to install a pump that allowed the city to get water from Smyrna for the time being.
