Coffee maker blamed for $200,000 in cleanup costs at St. Louis community college

St. Louis coffee spill costs campus $200,000

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis is perking up with jokes about the $200,000 cup of coffee. But officials at a college and its insurance company aren’t laughing.

St. Louis Community College at Forest Park must foot the bill after a coffee maker rigged to a faucet and left on in a photo lab led to a ruptured water line in July. About 10,000 gallons of water spilled down four floors, damaging ceilings, walls, computers and files.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the college’s Board of Trustees will be asked to approve cleanup costs this week, including a $143,494 contract with a disaster-recovery company.

School officials hope the campus will be out only the $25,000 insurance deductible plus another $54,000 for miscellaneous expenses, including overtime costs.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com