Dave Cousins shows the water leak at his East Butler apartment on Tuesday.

EAST BUTLER — Three weeks of pipe leaks are displacing six people, according to the frustrated tenants of a property on East Grant Street with water pouring from a wall.

Two brothers moved their families into two adjacent apartments in December, they said, while standing on a soaked carpet Tuesday afternoon. Dave and DeWayne Cousins swear the place looked clean and normal at that time. Each man had a son living with them, and Dave Cousins had his 74-year-old mother residing there.

Leaks began in late January or early February, Dave Cousins said. They've appeared in several spots throughout the house. A few in particular eroded a large hole through the wall over time.

“This building isn't livable if you ask me,” Dave Cousins said.

Now, he and his brother can stand in their separate apartments and see each other from head to toe through the hole. They can talk, although they have to speak over the sound of running water.

The apartments are above a former laundromat. The building was sold to Kevin White of Clairton in May 2018, according to records at the county recorder of deeds' office.

White is registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State as the owner of Whitestone Property Management. On Tuesday, an employee for the company said he would pass along a message requesting comment to White, but the Eagle did not receive a call back.

The water causing a steadily larger hole in the Cousins' wall does not drip but rather flows. An electrical wire runs through the stream. At one point, the water was hot and filled the adjacent rooms with steam. Dave Cousins captured that phenomenon on video and shared it online.

Over the weekend, the fire department turned off the water to the property. The Cousinses said it was later turned on again, but they're not sure why.

Dave Cousins believes his landlord wants them out of the building, and that the water is a means to that end. They received a letter requesting a termination of their lease on Feb. 9, he said. The letter requested their vacancy three days later. Dave Cousins said an attorney told him not to sign it.

He and DeWayne Cousins have been staying at their other brother Gary Cousins' house, but it's too small for everyone living there. On Monday night, Dave Cousins' insurance covered a hotel room for them.

DeWayne Cousins has a new place lined up for next month, but he has been unable to move all his belongings out of the apartment. He has lost much to water damage already, he said, including a mattress.

Both are concerned about the health effects associated with mold. There is standing water in both apartments, and they say the old laundromat below their feet appears to be covered in the stuff.

“It's an unhealthy situation,” Dave Cousins said.

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