A broken water supply line dumped water into a dorm, causing damages. This happened in Forest Lodge on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 30.
“Several hundred gallons of water were lost,” Jim Wolfe, director of Physical Plant, said.
Wolfe said the water leaked from the supply line in the ceiling of Forest Lodge, room 102, with water soaking the carpet, furniture and resident’s belongings.
He said the majority of the water flowed into the kitchen, living room, both bathrooms and bedroom 102A.
Excess water leaked into the hallway and adjacent laundry room.
Wolfe said the Physical Plant was notified around 6 a.m. by IUS Police about the water leak in Forest Lodge.
IUS Police were able to stop the leak by turning off the main water supply to the lodge until Tom Moore, assistant director of Physical Plant, arrived with the on-call Physical Plant maintenance crew at 6:30 a.m.
Moore and maintenance crew were able to isolate the leak and restore water back to the lodge.
“We spent the remainder of the morning using Shop Vac’s trying to remove as much water from the rooms as possible,” Moore said.
Moore said he didn’t know why the pipe failed.
“We’re working with the plumbing contractor, C-Squared, to make sure the system is properly repaired and that all of the damaged areas are restored back to their original condition,” Moore said.
Taliah Shabazz, journalism freshman and resident of room 102, had spent the night at her parents’ home on Friday, Jan. 29, and was unaware of the situation until she received a voicemail from a community adviser at Forest Lodge around 10:30 a.m. the next morning.
“The adviser said there were minor damages, and I needed to get up there as soon as possible because I needed to get my stuff out and switch rooms before Monday,” Shabazz said.
Shabazz said she arrived at her apartment around noon to find fans blowing into her room, water-soaked carpet and waterlogged belongings.
“Anything that was on the floor, under bed and in closet got soaked and wet,” Shabazz said. “I felt like it was major, not minor damage,” Shabazz said.
Shabazz said water damages included a box with personal information, CDs DVDs, clothing and shoes.
Shabazz and her roomate quickly chose another room assignment in Meadow Lodge with the same apartment layout, offered to them by their community adviser.
Seuth Chaleunphonh, dean of Student Life and acting director of Residence Life and Housing, said Shabazz and her roommate will be able to return to their apartment at Forest Lodge after repairs to the Forest Lodge apartment. Or, they could keep their new apartment in Meadow Lodge.
“Our priority is safety first,” Chaleunphonh said.
Chaleunphonh said IU Southeast is not responsible for residents’ belongings according to the rental contract signed by the resident. He said it’s the responsibility of the resident to obtain rental insurance to protect their belongings.
Chaleunphonh said it took about two years to build the lodges, and since they were built, some repairs have been done. This includes work on a faulty sprinkler system in Meadow Lodge during the spring 2009 semester, leaky seals for drainage of showers and the busted water supply line.
Wolfe said the lodges are still under warranty with C-Squared, the company who built the lodges. The warranty lasts until August, and there will be no expense to IU Southeast to repair water supply line.
Wolfe said repairs to the drywall and paint in the apartment were completed on Thursday, Feb. 4.
By LEAH TATE
Staff Writer
lmtate@umail.iu.edu