Approximately 960 students who live on the north side of campus near University Drive experienced a hot-water shutdown last week because of pipe damage, residential life officials said.
Tim Smith, Residential Life assistant director of dorms on north campus, sent a letter to residents of San Pablo and Palo Verde East residence halls on April 20 saying that no further disruptions are expected to occur.
“We do not anticipate further disruption to the hot-water service, but in the event that unforeseen circumstances arise, we will communicate with you as soon as possible to notify you if there are any changes to our anticipated resolution date,” he said in the e-mail letter.
However, nutrition freshman and Palo Verde East resident Casey Kavanaugh said some residents were told that in the near future, the hot water was going to be shut off one day for approximately 10 hours to finish repairs to the pipes.
“That’s what they told us … last time, but it ended up being off for five days,” she said.
Hall directors are supposed to notify residents 24 to 48 hours in advance of the shutoff, she said.
The hot water was turned off Friday, April 17, and was not turned back on until the following Wednesday, April 22, at around 3 p.m., Kavanaugh said.
“They said it was only supposed to be off for a few hours,” she said.
Smith said that that hot water was disrupted because a steam leak caused damage to the pipes.
Although the hot water is back up and working, Smith said in the letter that the final completion date for the repair project isn’t until after the end of the semester.
“It may take an additional week to put the site back in order and get the fence removed for normal pedestrian flow to resume, which is why the anticipated completion date of the entire project is May 15,” Smith said.
Until the issue was resolved, Residential Life provided a limited number of portable showers for residents to use, Smith said.
The showers were located outside between Palo Verde Main and San Pablo residence halls.
Civil engineering sophomore Angela Tugaoen said she used the portable showers once before opting to take cold showers.
“It was gross and smelled bad, and I didn’t like it and didn’t want to walk over there,” she said. “[Taking cold showers] wasn’t too bad, though, because it was hot during the week.”
Kavanaugh said she refused to use the portable showers.
“I walked to Ocotillo [residence hall] one day to shower at my friend’s place, and other than that I just didn’t shower or took a cold shower,” she said.
The water shutdown also affected those who used hot water while washing clothes in the community laundry rooms.
Compensation is being considered for those affected, but no decision will be made until after the project is complete, Smith said.
Reach the reporter at bemattox@asu.edu.
