Freezing temperatures caused pipes to burst in Zeppos College and Warren College on Jan. 12, and Cole Hall and Tolman Hall on Jan. 17. Vanderbilt University Maintenance and Operations addressed the damage in the affected areas and are updating residents on the conditions of buildings as their investigation continues.
A suite on the fourth floor of Warren College experienced flooding on Jan. 12 after water burst from a pipe and spilled out of the front door. The exact cause is unknown, but senior Chidinma Onukwuru, the RA on duty when the flood occurred, attributed it to “faulty water pressure.” Warren College experienced flooding due to a burst pipe last semester that displaced residents for two and a half weeks.
Though initially concerned for the floor’s residents, Onukwuru was pleased by the university’s response to the flooding.
“First reactions were of shock and worry for the aftermath that the residents would have to deal with, considering the flood from last semester,” Onukwuru said. “Overall, from what I saw it was handled pretty swiftly by maintenance. I’m not too sure what will come after, but as far as I know, the hallway and room are being dried out.”
According to VUMO, the basement of Zeppos College flooded due to a leaking groundwater and rainwater collection header on Jan. 12, resulting in roughly four inches of standing water on the basement floor. Residents were alerted by a fire alarm at 10 a.m. CST due to the water knocking a smoke detector loose and activating the alert system.
Like Onukwuru, junior and Zeppos RA Madison Gilbert, who was on duty at the time, said her first reaction was to check on her residents, though she realized no floors besides the basement were affected by the water.
“I was really worried about my residents initially, but we realized pretty quickly it was only in the basement,” Gilbert said. “I’m kind of shocked that things like this are happening in residential colleges that are almost brand new, and I wonder if it’s due to how quickly they are being built.”
Cole Hall and Tolman Hall experienced flooding on Jan. 17, which, in an email to Cole Hall residents, the Housing and Residential Experience office said stemmed from the building’s heating system.
In an email to The Hustler, VUMO attributed the cause of the Tolman flood to a “pinhole leak” in the hot water line, which was repaired soon after. They determined that the Cole leak came from a coil in a fan unit that burst, spreading water throughout the building. VUMO has since cleaned the flood and is in the process of drying the floors.
Students displaced due to the flood’s damage were relocated to empty rooms in Cole while VUMO repairs the water damage, which left behind pink residue due to non-hazardous water chemicals.
Those displaced were told in an email from HRE to expect to reside in their new accommodations for at least two weeks, though the email also instructed them to refrain from packing up all their belongings and instead await a more precise timeline.
Susannah Oster, a junior and resident of Cole Hall, was one of the residents displaced by the flood. She said several inches of water accumulated in her room, destroying her belongings that were not elevated. Students with damaged property were instructed to file claims with their insurance company, according to an email from HRE sent to Cole residents.
“Initially, I was met with a great deal of support from individuals from the Housing office, maintenance, and custodial staff,” Oster said. “Eventually, late afternoon, I received an email from Housing with my new room assignment and the direction that I had just two hours to go back to my room and pack up my things for the indefinite future.”
Students received emails from HRE instructing them to keep their windows closed to avoid HVAC units from freezing and bursting, yet Oster believes this is unreasonable to ask of those living in older dorms such as Cole Hall.
“While my windows were closed, I would hold no blame against students with windows open,” Oster said. “The rooms inside Cole can get extremely hot — despite the freezing temperatures outside, and with absolutely no control of temperature in the rooms, what other options do students have?”
