Burst pipes have led to flooding in different buildings across campus in January. University Residence South, Fine Arts Building, Centennial Tower East and Armstrong Hall all experienced water damage the week before school.
The worst flooding on campus wasn’t caused by the cold weather. A faulty system in Antelope and Nester led to its demise.
“In early January, we had an issue related to a water heater that failed and there was a leak on the third floor,” said Todd Gottula, senior director of communications and marketing. “Water made its way from the third floor to the second and first floor. We had to relocate 17 students to new rooms over break.”
The ineffective water heater caused a leak on the third floor that spread to the second and first floors. The leak damaged six rooms causing water damage to the dry wall, cabinets and carpet. A few students were moved into other rooms available in Antelope with the rest being placed in Nester.
The communication department chair was the first to discover the water damage in URS on the morning of Jan. 22.
“I was walking in water that was going over the tops of my shoes,” said Nanette Hogg, chair of the Communication Department.
The night before classes began, a pipe in URS from the main waterline near pod C froze and burst. The water traveled down the ramp and settled in pod D where the Communications Department temporarily resides.
The newsroom, classroom and lounge were affected, leaving the professors’ offices untouched. Professors had to scramble to find available classrooms to meet with students for the first week back in class.
Across campus in the FAB, the ceramics lab’s heating system on the rooftop failed. The week before classes started, pipes froze and burst causing water damage to two of the kilns. The lab is currently shut down for repairs but should be back up and running very soon.
In Centennial Tower East a couple of students on the fifth and sixth floors left their windows open. This led to pipe issues and water damage. Damages were minimal with fixes to the pipes and water cleanup.
The flooding in Armstrong Hall was due to a backed-up plumbing issue in the basement. No students were impacted or displaced. It only resulted in the cleanup of the water.
“Our people reacted pretty quick to try to minimize the damage,” said Todd Gottula, senior director of communications and marketing.