The flood occurred shortly before Christmas in the basement where crowds of lawyers, suspects and relatives typically gather.
This week, the stairs to the basement will be barred with yellow tape, said Judge Phil Pennypacker, presiding judge of the criminal division. Visitors can consult a case list that will be posted on the wall to find out where they should go, he said.
The plan is for Pennypacker to hear the master calendar on the 4th floor in Dept. 30 and for another judge to conduct felony arraignments on the 2nd floor in Dept. 26. (The two courtrooms that were affected are departments 23 and 24.)
"We'll have a plan in place to take care of the court's business," Pennypacker said. "It's taken a little bit of scrambling to reassign cases."
The first floor of the courthouse is likely to be more hectic than usual with throngs of bewildered people, potentially delaying the time it takes to get through security or board an elevator.
Officials hope to reopen the courtrooms Jan. 10.
The flood occurred Dec. 20 when a pair of pumps failed, said Jeff Draper, the county's director of Facilities & Fleets. One of the pumps was designed to keep stormwater from flooding a nearby parking lot. When it failed, water leaked into the courthouse basement. A faulty sensor on a sump pump there then allowed at least an inch of water to build up, saturating some of the drywall.
The damage will cost an estimated $50,000 to repair, said Lance Sposito, the county's director of risk management. The money will come out of the state court's budget because the courts are responsible for the building, he said.
Last week, equipment was brought in to dehumidify the courtrooms and prevent mold. The courtrooms must pass air quality control tests before they can be reopened.
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