Wednesday morning dawned bright and frigid for residents of Keohane and Kilgo Quadrangles.
Early yesterday morning, students in Keohane discovered they had no hot water, and Kilgo residents said they did not have heat. Associate Dean for Residential Life Joe Gonzalez said multiple e-mails and phone calls to the Residence Life and Housing Services office alerted maintenance to the problems.
“I got up around 9 [a.m.], I had a [biochemistry] exam an hour later, and I shower every morning,” said Bo Sun, a sophomore who lives in Keohane 4A. “I turned on the water and it was freezing cold—icier than it usually is when you turn it on.”
John Noonan, associate vice president for facilities management, said a broken valve on a steam pilot caused the Keohane problem. In Kilgo, the steam converter pumps failed, Noonan said, adding that the converter was a backup unit that had been in use since the original was found leaking last Friday.
When RLHS crews could not fix the problems, the plumbing and steam shops came to replace the faulty parts, Noonan said. The problems were resolved Wednesday afternoon.
“I think if we can fix it the same day, we’re doing good—especially if we’re fixing hot water and heat,” Noonan said. “With these kinds of calls, our practice is to jump on them as quickly as we can... those things are prioritized over maintenance issues.”
Gonzalez said he did not know how much these problems will cost the University.
Officials did not know whether the problems were the result of natural wear or of the recent cold weather. Building 2A in Edens Quadrangle lost heat last Saturday as well, Gonzalez said.
“We’re going through a period when it’s been cooler than usual, and maybe that’s putting stress on the system, but we were using the system all last year,” Gonzalez said. “Perhaps it’s connected to weather or perhaps we’ve been a little less fortunate in our equipment. It’s hard to say what the cause is.”
Keohane Residence Coordinator Matthew Meyer and Craven Quadrangle Residence Coordinator Justin Clapp sent e-mails to the affected residents at about 9:50 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively. Their e-mails informed residents of the problems, asked for their patience and said technicians were working on the problems.
Although these problems were short term, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said many of the West Campus dorms have old infrastructure that will soon need repairs.
Gonzalez said RLHS is preparing to assess areas that need the most immediate attention—a process that should begin in a few months.
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