Water main break outside Charles and Allegany Halls
Facilities Management shut down water to five South Hill buildings Wednesday morning after a broken pipe caused water to leak into South Campus Commons 3 and Annapolis Hall.
Officials reported a water main break near Charles and Allegany Halls Tuesday evening, according to an email sent to affected residents. At 10 a.m. Wednesday, Facilities Management shut off the water for Allegany, Charles, Fredrick, Howard and Washington Halls as workers dug up the area to find the broken pipe’s exact location.
“We do not have an estimate on when the water will be restored to those five residence halls,” Facilities Management wrote in an email sent this morning. “We will update those buildings’ residents as the repairs progress.”
At about 2 p.m., utility manager Mike Henson said workers found large amounts of water while digging, signifying there were close to finding the pipe. He said he was confident they would be finished in time for students to move in.
“We’ll work all night if we have to so it gets back to working,” Henson said.
The broken pipe flooded certain manholes on South Campus, causing water to overflow in the mechanical rooms of Commons 3 and Annapolis Hall, Henson said. The flood in Commons ruined the carpet and flooded near the lobby, but Henson said further damage is unknown.
In both Commons and Annapolis, the water did not get into students’ rooms, Residential Facilities Maintenance Assistant Director George Mohr said. A drain in Annapolis’ mechanical room’s floor also removed some of the water, he said.
Officials won’t know the exact cause of the water main break until the broken pipe is discovered, but Mohr said corrosion or the sudden rise in temperatures may be the problem. Aging infrastructure could also be a reason, Henson said.
“These pipes are like 50 years old, some older,” he said. “Sometimes when it’s cold, the ground will get hard and the pipes pop.”
