Following rain showers, a water leak has caused damage in Men’s Hall at UNK.
UNK staff worked quickly to resolve the water issue.
“There was minimal water damage to the building,” said Michael Cremers, director of facilities at UNK. “We were able to repair the damages shortly after they occurred.”
A water leak in the Men’s Hall residence hallway was reported to Cremers on Sunday, April 7, after Kearney had gotten some rain. Men’s Hall houses students in the Honors Program and there was water running down from the ceiling on the first floor of the residency. A large garbage can was used to contain the water leaking from the ceiling.
A loose plumbing fixture in a bathroom on the second floor caused the leak. The bathroom with the leak is located directly above the hallway on the first floor.
The leak was fixed on the following Monday or Tuesday. Cremers said that a plumber is further monitoring the area. The leak caused damage to some ceiling tiles on the first floor, which will be replaced in the future.
Many students were impacted by the leak.
“The leak started off as a drip,” said Piper Lefdal, a UNK freshman majoring in business administration with an emphasis in accounting and marketing. “We have a lot of those, as it’s an old building. The drip escalated more quickly than others we’ve had. I’m glad that the leak is fixed now.”
Lefdal said that as the week went on, the ceiling tiles in the area started to fall one by one. By the end of the week, multiple ceiling tiles were missing and there were multiple water drips that were constant. She said that the leak became “stinky and the carpet under the drip was pretty gross.”
Men’s Hall residents have dealt with water leaks in multiple areas of the building.
“I noticed a leak in one of the first floor girls’ shower areas,” said Emma Rankin, a UNK freshman makroing in psychobiology. “I am really hoping they fix it soon because it is causing the shower ceiling to crack and even fall. It also drips cold water.”
Lefdal said that there was another leak outside of the first floor restroom. It was small but there was a trash can in front of the bathroom door to catch the water.
Cremers said that there was a roof leak in Men’s Hall recently. The rubber membrane got a tear in it, which was repaired by a roofing contractor.
