Water still on at abandoned Detroit building

DETROIT, Mich. (WJBK) - Lost in the landscape of vacant, dilapidated and forgotten factories in Detroit sits a seemingly abandoned building that took native Detroiter Mark Heath by surprise.

"We came back here to take some pics and we heard some water running," says Heath.

Heath is a native Detroiter. He works with a nonprofit that cleans up old tires, like the ones that he says were stacked to ceiling in the vacant building. The artwork on the walls caught his eye so he went exploring, and in doing so stumbled upon this this accidental water fountain tucked in the back basement. 

"We called the Detroit Water Department and told them about it. This was 4 months ago," says Heath, who told FOX 2 he and his group stumbled upon the property back in March. But it looks like it's been long abandoned possibly for years.Heath was told the issue would be resolved.

"They said they would take care of it. We hadn't been here in a while came out here to check on it and it's still running."

FOX 2 called the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to see if they were aware of it and what was being done.

FOX 2 was told by a department spokesperson a maintenance team has been made aware, but because it's inside a vacant building that team will need further investigation beginning on Wednesday before an emergency shut-off can take place. Heath just hopes no one will have to pay the water bill very much longer.

"It's a shame," he said. "People are struggling to pay bills and that water is just coming out. Somebody is paying for it."