The Wright Building may seem a quiet, archaic niche next to its gargantuan neighbor, the Science Center, but two weeks ago it was abuzz with anxiety and activity as abandoned steam pipes unexpectedly spra2ng to life and began pouring water into the basement and first floor, damaging 10 rooms.
Mechanical modifications to the Wright Building’s steam heating system are underway and should be complete by Saturday in order to ensure against a repeat of the water damage. The source of the problem was identified as improper disconnection of a section of the steam pipes during renovations to the building that were part of the Science Center construction. Though the extent of damage to the affected rooms is still uncertain, the College has hired sub-contractors to inspect the damages and quote a price for repairs. Repairs will probably be completed within the next couple of weeks, according to Director of Planning and Construction Sal Filardi.
At about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 21, students and professors in Wright noticed water seeping from windows, ceilings and walls. Senior physics major Christopher Kelly first noticed the problem while working on a problem set.
“I saw water dripping on the inside of a window,” Kelly said. “We noticed the leaking before it was raining outside so we knew it wasn’t because of the weather. And the water was really warm, so we predicted that it was either a hot water or a steam line.”
After a number of calls from students and faculty, Safety and Security forwarded concerns to Building and Ground’s nighttime emergency response staff. Buildings and grounds staff investigated until 7 p.m., but as the evening drew on, problems persisted.
Physics professor Dan Stinebring, whose basement lab was one of the affected rooms, was in Wright for most of the evening and placed buckets and waste cans under the water leaking into the corner of his room which, he said, poured in a steady stream. When he returned to his lab at 9 p.m. after an astronomy study session, the water was still flowing strong.
“I was pretty upset,” Stinebring said, mentioning that though Security had dispatched building and grounds staff to investigate the problem, no note had been left to explain what would be done to correct the situation.
“I called Security again and they said they had contacted people, and someone high up in Buildings and Grounds decided the problem was a roof leak and that it would have to wait until morning,” Stinebring said.
On Friday morning, staff returned to size up the problem and found that the water was not coming from the roof, but rather from steam pipes that were releasing steam into the walls.
The problem started when someone in Wright had no heat to their office on Thursday afternoon, traced the pipes back, found a valve and opened it. While the valve brought heat to the room, it also jumpstarted steam lines that had been left connected to the abandoned steam pipes. The pipes had been cut off, but not sealed, during renovations. Steam flowed into the old set of steam pipes, condensed and seeped through walls and ceilings as water.
Fortunately, Stinebring said, the damage to his lab was “not disastrous,” but other rooms fared worse. Water may have ruined some carpets, insulation and dry wall, which would have to be replaced.
Filardi assured that the College was taking necessary steps to correct the damage and prevent further problems.
However, there is still some concern over the College’s handling of the situation.
“Steam was pouring all night long into our walls,” head of the physics department John Scofield said. “To me, it’s incredible to think that our staff did everything they knew how to bring this problem to the attention of the College, and yet it was allowed to fester all night long until it was solved the next day.”
Kelly expressed anxiety about interference with student research.
“Problems like this water situation that are caused by poor workmanship may directly cause me to lose over a week of research time if they need to replace parts of the wall,” Kelly said.