A broken water pipe that flooded the federal courthouse with hundreds of gallons of water has shut down the five-story building this week.

Chief U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor yesterday said a pipe between the third and fourth floor burst, sending 1,500 gallons of water seeping as far down as the first floor.

Because the pipe is between the ceiling and the floor, the problem wasn't detected until water found its way through the ceiling of the building's third-floor law library.

"It accumulated a lot of water before it came through," she said.

The judge said workers are drying and cleaning the courthouse. The building was shut down Tuesday and likely will be closed for the week, she said.

She said they hope to reopen Monday, but said it was too early to estimate the extent of damages.

The extended closure for repair work is believed to be the first for the 29-year-old Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole United States Courthouse, the only federal courthouse in the state. Located between Ala Moana and Halekauwila Street, the courthouse holds a variety of hearings each day ranging from jury trials, sentencings, civil lawsuit hearings to federal traffic cases.

They number from a handful to several dozens daily.

A sign at the front door said the courthouse was closed "due to flooding."

Although the courthouse is closed, judges, the staff and officials were rescheduling court proceedings or arranging to conduct hearings at the Federal Detention Center, possibly the federal bankruptcy courthouse and even the cafeteria of the federal building next to the courthouse.

"We're up to the challenge," Gillmor said. "We'll make it happen."

Legal papers can still be filed in a box outside the courthouse front door or filed electronically.

"All you need is the judge and the parties and the lawyers and you have court," Gillmor said.

One example of the improvisation was naturalization proceedings for new U.S. citizens normally held in a federal courtroom. Two ceremonies were held in the morning and afternoon in the cafeteria on the fifth floor of the federal building.

"It's a temporary federal court," said Franklyn Harrison, applications clerk for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang told a group of more than 50 new citizens that the proceedings was one matter he did not want to postpone.

"This is a very special occasion," he said before he swore in the group.

Like many of the others, new citizen Marina Stillman wasn't concerned about the location.

"It doesn't matter the walls around you," the 29-year-old Maui resident from Russia said. "It matters what's in your heart."

Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com.