Simpson gets wet-again

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Caleb Geer

Simpson College faces yet another water main break in the 2021-22 academic year.

by Caleb Geer, Copy Editor

Simpson College was faced with another water main break late Thursday evening. The new break occurred directly in front of Dunn Library.

The break is not the first one to occur this academic year as the last was reported on Feb. 7. While the last break affected Wallace Hall, Dunn Library, Barker Hall and Pfeiffer Dining Hall, the new break affected an entirely new set of buildings.

Staff on campus were worried about Kent Campus Center losing water because of all the food service venues inside, but the building was able to maintain its water.

The buildings affected by this break consisted of Kresge Hall, Delta Delta Delta, Hopper Gymnasium and Carse Hall. The listed buildings had their water turned off so the main could be repaired. Although a different group of buildings were affected, the scene was extremely reminiscent of the break that occurred earlier this year because of the location of the water.

Sophomore CA Laurel Stice was first to report the break.

“I was on my way to Barker…and I looked to my right and saw a massive puddle between Pfeiffer and Kresge so I immediately texted the duty phone,” Stice said. She said this occurred at roughly 11:25 p.m.

Shortly after, water was making its way toward both Kresge and Barker while surrounding Pfeiffer. Large puddles and mud continue to be an issue.

Although a large amount of standing water collected around Pfeiffer Dining Hall, the venue did not shut down. All scheduled meals for the day were served.

Similar to the last break, Indianola’s Municipal Utility service was on the scene, but this time AirCon contractors were working with the local service.

After the water was shut off to work on the main, a backhoe was brought in and was used to dig to the line. Dean of Students Matt Hansen said the amount of water released and presence of telephone lines slowed the process down.

Hansen said the plan for the repair was for it to be completed within the day.

“It’s just making sure that the repair holds, everything operates as planned and then we would be good,” he said.

At 3:51 p.m. on April 15 an email was sent out by SCCommunications to notify campus that water has been fully restored. The notification also warned of “significant mud puddles” and to continue being careful when walking around certain areas.

A following email was sent out by SCCommunications on April 18 at 4:36 p.m. stating that Pfeiffer’s west entrance should be used until the main entrance is cleaned and reopened.

On April 19, a water leak was also discovered outside Barker Hall. The water on the the northeast side of campus was shut off for repairs the following morning, but has been restored for now.