A water main break on the University of Maryland’s campus caused Eppley Recreation Center and the School of Public Health to close early and several dorms to lose water Monday.
In an email Monday morning, Residential Facilities wrote that a water main break occurred Sunday night between Chestertown Hall and the School of Public Health on Valley Drive, and urged travelers to use caution near the site where the repairs were being done.
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The break shut off water in Eppley Recreation Center — which remained open but didn’t have functional showers or restrooms — and in the School of Public Health.
Both buildings closed at 9 p.m. due to the outage. Eppley typically stays open until midnight on Mondays, while the School of Public Health closes at 10 p.m.
In an email sent to students at 6:24 p.m., Residential Facilities estimated that water would be back on by 7:00 p.m. But by close to 9:00 p.m., a subsequent email informed students that Facilities Management was “still working to isolate the point of the water main break.”
“If you need to use the restroom, the Ellicott Diner currently has water and is open until 11:59 p.m.,” the email read.
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A person who answered the phone at Residential Facilities’ 4WORK hotline said “most dorms” on North Campus — including Oakland, Ellicott, La Plata, Easton and Cumberland halls — were affected by the outage, but couldn’t provide an exact number or list of the buildings.
By 9:45 p.m., water had been restored to all the affected dorms.