A sudden underground water line break behind Hart Hall caused significant service interruptions across multiple campus buildings on January 24, 2025, temporarily affecting water access for several key facilities from that Friday till late Saturday the next day.
Maintenance staff first discovered water surfacing in the parking lot Friday afternoon. After initial assessment, they confirmed a broken water line and promptly brought in a contractor to investigate and repair the damaged infrastructure.
The repair process involved excavating a section of the parking lot to locate and fix the leak. While the pipe’s location was identified early Saturday morning, additional materials delayed complete repairs until later that day. During this period, water service was restored intermittently, but only for temporary usage.
The water service interruption impacted seven campus buildings: MSA, Williams, Gilliam Wellness Center, Hart, Sutton, Lacy Fieldhouse, and the Physical Plant. The total downtime spanned approximately seven hours – five hours Friday night/early Saturday morning and two hours late morning/early Saturday afternoon.
The total repair costs are still pending invoice receipt, expenses will be drawn from the maintenance budget. They anticipate potential increases in the water bill but expect to negotiate a credit with the water department.
In a statement, Director of Property & Risk Management, Brent Nipper emphasized commitment to minimizing service disruptions and praised the maintenance and housing staff, along with their long-standing contractor, for their dedicated work in challenging cold temperatures to resolve the issue swiftly.
About The Author:
Gabrielle Jones is a sophomore from Elizabethton. She is a Multimedia Journalism major and a Filmmaking minor. She is the Social Media Manager for Stampede. She enjoys horror media, reading, and film.