Students displaced after water pipe sprouts leaks

On Jan. 19, more than 20 students in Portland State’s Blumel Residence Hall awoke to find their rooms damaged by water after a pipe in the building’s waterline sprouted several leaks.

The resulting damage forced several students to be relocated to the University Place Hotel. Of the students affected, five were considered to be at the “core” of the leak, while others were left facing varying levels of damage to the walls, carpeting and floors of their rooms.

The leak was caused by a buildup of pressure in a stack of the building’s pipeline. Maintenance had attempted to replace a bracket in the pipe earlier in the week, and had shut off the pipe’s water supply. When the water pressure decreased, so did the pressure on the pipe. After the repairs were completed and the water turned back on, the sudden increase in pressure caused several pinhole-sized leaks in the pipe.

Haley Perrick, a sophomore communication major and resident of Blumel, reported that she and her roommate did not have water for three days while repairs were being made to the pipe. From the evening of the 19th to the morning of the 22nd, there was no cold or hot running water in their room.

Perrick and her roommate were forced to use the Student Recreation Center showers, and were unable to cook or clean dishes in their room. She believes the extended delay was the result of a miscommunication with maintenance.

“You can’t really do anything without water,” Perrick said. “When our water was shut off, no one came to turn it back on. We had no bathroom for three days.”

Corey Ray, director of housing and residence life, said the residents in the building only had their water shut off for a maximum of two hours at a time over the three-day repair period. Residents were also sent information via email of water shutoff times.

Students who were affected and those who were moved to University Place were provided with meal vouchers for the meals they were unable prepare. Additionally, those that had to stay in UPH had the rent value of the days they were unable to stay in their residence housing credited to their HigherOne accounts.

Ray stated that University Housing was attempting to accommodate affected students as best as they could. “If they miss something, it’s the student’s responsibility to let maintenance know,” he said.

Ray explained that the building was scheduled for repairs, but the university was surprised by the leaks. “It’s not an unsafe building,” Ray said. “It’s about as normal as a situation like this can be.” He also explained that the burst pipes were not caused by negligence on the university’s part but were instead just a “natural plumbing problem.” Furthermore, Ray said the damage incurred to the Broadway Housing building during a cooking fire last year was substantially more serious than the damage found in Blumel.

Ray said no students have filed insurance claims for damaged items, and the adjuster’s report filed after the incident did not find the university at fault for the leaks.

Under the PSU University Housing contract, the university “is not responsible for loss or damage to personal property in University housing facilities due to fire, theft, pests, water, interruption of water or heat, other utility problems, damages caused by other residents, or other causes.”

Student residents are asked to enroll in a renter’s insurance agreement with an outside provider in order to protect themselves against these types of damages.

Beginning this summer, Blumel Hall will undergo a $7 million dollar renovation, paid for by a bond procured from the state.

Renovations are planned to be complete by the end of the 2012–13 academic year. Blumel Hall, which houses 300 students, will be closed to students during the renovation, but due to the scheduled opening of the University Pointe residence hall, additional space will still be available for students who would like to live on campus.

The upcoming renovations to Blumel will include redesigns of the rooms and lounges in order to provide more access for students and better lighting. Additionally, the roof of the building and the entirety of the plumbing system are scheduled to be replaced.