This Monday evening, a water main break occurred in the vicinity of the Center for Molecular Medicine. Campus Operations and Maintenance shut down the water service in response to this and began repairs at around 11:00 PM.

‘The water main ruptured. Valves in that area were turned off to isolate the problem. Emergency repairs were and service was restored. Additional repairs will be made over the next few days on that section of the water main,’ said the university media relations officer, Patrick Calabria.

The water main break not only affected many areas in the Academic Mall, such as Harriman Hall and the Life Sciences Building, but several residential quads on campus were also affected. Many students were without water and heat. The buildings affected included Challenger Hall, Dana Hall, Discovery Hall, at the South Campus and Douglass College, Dreiser College and Hand College, at Tabler Quad.

A press release was emailed early Monday afternoon to all faculty, staff and students to inform them of the situation. According to the email, repair work was in progress and that due to the repairs, Circle Road, east of Marburger Drive, south of the main campus entrance, was closed to traffic.

Mark Woodruff, Assistant Director for Facilities and Services, commented late Tuesday afternoon, ‘The break has been repaired now. It’ll take sometime for the water to get through the system.’

Many residents were irate about the situation and complained about the lack of basic necessities. Chelsea Stern, a sophomore from Douglass College, said ‘It was incredibly inconvenient. I’m sick, and I had to shower at the SAC. It was cold and very unpleasant. We found out at one in the morning so we didn’t have time to plan for anything else. There was absolutely no water to brush your teeth or do anything.’

According to an RA at Douglass College who wishes to remain anonymous, ‘I found out last minute right before I got off, when the RHD called. I contacted other RAs but most people were surprised. I put up signs to warn [the residents]. It was a major inconvenience and all of Tabler was affected. The residents were really upset. Some people even called Campus Residences for refunds.’

Many students also felt that the alternatives SBU offered for the residents were lacking. Sue Lee, a sophomore from Douglass College, stated, ‘I thought it was entirely crazy that the whole quad did not have water and expected all of us to go to Roth Quad’s ‘Tub Rooms.’ I can’t believe they shut the heat, too. It’s so cold.’

One major complaint many residents had was regarding the plumbing situation and how they could not flush the toilet ‘We had to go to the classroom or library to pee. When the water finally came back around two in the afternoon, we were really happy,’ said former RHA of Dreiser College, Stephanie Tam.

Residences at the colleges were made aware of the situation at different times during the night. At Tabler Quad, residents from Douglass College found out around one to three in the morning, when they noticed signs around the building. Students at Dreiser College were not aware of the situation until the morning after when signs were posted around noon.

At Tabler Quad, the water came back at different times for the colleges, starting from 4:00 PM yesterday, to the relief of residents.

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