In Aug. and Sept. alone, Colorado Mesa University (CMU) experienced flooding in three different buildings on campus. Monument Hall, Escalante Hall and Bunting Hall have all suffered varying degrees of damage.
The Monument Hall flood was caused by a failure in the fitting of one of the dorm’s water fountains. CMU custodial and facilities services fixed a broken appurtenance, which is a plumbing device that is part of the basic piping system, and patched the disturbed drywall.
“While there was water traveling from the third floor all the way down to the first floor, thanks to our amazing Resident Assistants, Facility Staff and Custodial Staff, we were able to quickly assess the problem […] and expunge the displacing water from causing significant building damage. There were residents who were quick to offer help, Resident Assistants who were off-duty jumped in to help with the situation, and Residence Life Administration who were phenomenal in guiding staff members on what to do. […] It was truly amazing to see so many people come together and be so patient with us while we addressed the situation,” Monument Hall Residence Coordinator Kyle Harrison said.
According to CMU, it is unlikely a similar event will occur again.
Escalante Hall was flooded shortly before fall classes started. Faulty fitting on a heat pump broke, which led to water surging into the main entry on the south side of the building, part of the CMU-TV studio and one classroom on the first floor.
The water damage was extensive, so the school hired independent contractors for quick repairs. The cost, outside of the deductible, will be covered by the university’s insurance.
Some classes were temporarily moved into different parts of the building during the first week, until repairs could be completed. The school inspected the rest of the building, but did not find the same fitting problem elsewhere.
Bunting Hall (Bunting) was the second residence hall that recently flooded. One Bunting resident was charging their electric skateboard when its lithium battery spontaneously ignited. The fire suppression system put out the fire, which caused flooding in suites on the west side of floors one through three.
Bunting’s damage was worse than Monument’s, prompting the school to again hire independent contractors to perform the repair work.
Some student property was also damaged due to the nature of the flood.
“Vice President of Student Services [Jody Diers] and Residence Life staff are working with students to identify any belongings that were damaged and how best to compensate for those items,” Director of Public Relations Kelsey Dudley said.
The recent floodings are not indicative of widespread plumbing issues, but rather a series of standalone incidents.
