Water service restored Monday to troubled apartment complex in Colorado Springs

The repair crew working on a broken water line at the El Vecino apartments in Colorado Springs said service was restored Monday afternoon.

Mike Black, of Mike’s Plumbing and Heating, said all service was restored after briefly shutting off water again because of a new leak in one of the complex’s buildings — which means residents no longer have to use portable toilets placed in the parking lot.

Some residents, however, didn’t immediately realize they had water.

“I’m going to get a motel room,” one tenant said. “I’m tired of waiting.”

But another resident was thankful.

“I just noticed 20 minutes ago that my water was back on,” she said. “Thank you for asking.”

A former apartment employee and two former residents contacted KRDO NewsChannel 13, saying that utility problems at the complex have existed longer than the latest situation that began last Thursday.

Charles Cochran, a former maintenance man, said he was fired after expressing concern about inadequate repairs at the complex.

“They came in making a lot of promises — renovations and stuff like that,” he said. “Pipes busting all over the place. Why would you want to throw in new renovation stuff if you’re not fixing the stuff that’s breaking?”

Randy Kilgore and his girlfriend, Staci Annis, moved to El Vecino last May but left in December after what they describe as constant water and sewer leaks.

“I was getting sicker being in that apartment,” Kilgore said. “And they didn’t want us to leave. They told us we had to stay there, and we couldn’t break our lease. We asked why not? We didn’t have water for, like, six months.”

The couple is happier in a new apartment north of downtown.

“It’s not right how they treat people,” Annis said. “And people don’t leave because they have bad credit or can’t find a cheaper apartment.”

Dunmire Property Management, the manager of El Vecino, was unavailable for comment Monday.