Water restored at Ballantine

Bathrooms on nine floors and the café in Ballantine Hall were closed for several hours today due to a water main break.

Water was restored around 2:15 p.m., said Hank Hewetson, associate vice president for facilities. Crews were digging on the east side of the building to repair the break.

Hewetson said a call came into the physical plant at about 6:30 this morning. Water was rising to the surface of the parking garage on the east side of the building.

“Water was actually coming up out of the ground,” he said. “The line to the building is ruptured. We had to do an emergency shutdown so we could repair it.”

Hewetson said after the water is turned back on, though, it will take an hour or more to get the plumbing working again since the building is so tall.

“Since it’s such a high building, we have to have pumps to make sure there’s enough water pressure for it to get to the top floors,” Hewetson said.

Hewetson said it’s likely the break was caused by the cold temperatures. The physical plant has had to repair several breaks this winter.

Other breaks this semester have affected the Herman B Wells Library, North Jordan Avenue and the Arboretum.

He said the water line to Ballantine was the only one affected today.

Ashley Jenkins