Surprise struck central campus last on Feb. 10 when an email was sent out alerting students and faculty that there had been a water main break outside of Funnelle Hall that morning. The break was unexpected and had some less-than-ideal side effects for the surrounding buildings. 

The email, sent by Patrick Woodward, the associate director of Residence Life and Housing, stated that due to the water main break, there would be a water outage beginning at noon on Friday in Funnelle, Cooper and Hart halls. This outage meant that no one in any of these buildings could use the sinks, toilets, showers or water fountains.

Per the email, students were encouraged to go to Marano Campus Center, the closest building with water access, until the outage ended and the water main was repaired.

Woodward apologized for the inconvenience and stated that “facilities staff are working diligently to repair the issue as quickly as possible”. 

Shortly following this email, another statement was made by Steve McAfee, the executive director of Auxiliary Services, detailing the impacts the outage would have on Cooper Dining Hall. While the dining hall remained open as scheduled throughout the outage, dining had to be adjusted to accommodate the lack of access to running water. The hall switched to paper plates, utensils and cups to avoid an overflow of unwashed dishes, and additionally prepared students for potential menu modifications as needed. The beverage service was also adjusted to accommodate the outage. No specific statement was made on how the outage would impact Cooper Fitness Center.

Shortly before 3 p.m. on Feb. 10, a final email was sent out by Woodward alerting the campus residents and staff that the water main had been repaired, the outage was complete and students could begin using the water in the residence halls and Cooper would return to normal. The overall outage time for the water access in all of the buildings amounted to just under three hours.

Both Woodward and McAfee emphasized in the various emails they sent that campus staff was sincerely apologetic for the inconveniences the water main break caused for students living in Hart and Funnelle as well as any student and staff seeking to visit Cooper. It seems that the staff involved were able to work diligently and quickly to repair the water main as soon as possible and were able to return central campus to working order.

Photo by: Nate Zim