Residents of RH White College were evacuated following a water line burst at 5:06 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11. 

The incident occurred on the east end of the third floor of the residential college. 

This burst was caused either by the transition from cooling water to heating water, which can cause expansion of the pipe, or the age and potential deterioration of the pipe said Jason Youngblood, director of Facilities Management. 

Students were notified of the incident by text and email alerts. The University also posted updates to their social media pages throughout the night. 

The building suffered no major damage, but students living on the east end of the third floor will be without heat until the pipe is repaired. 

Housing arrangements were made for students affected by the water leak said Shawn Touney, executive director of Marketing and Communication. 

Cleanup took about three hours, with fans being set up in affected areas over the weekend. 

On the University’s Facebook page, several commented that this incident is a “rite of passage” for students. 

Youngblood said with the size of campus, this happens more often than he would like. 

“Generally, we have a slower transition in temperatures and have more time to change over from cooling to heating,” Youngblood said.  “However, when we go from 80 degrees to 30 degrees in a 48 hour period, it makes the transition much more difficult, especially on a weekend when fewer staff are available on campus.”

Youngblood said every situation is different, but the University has someone working 24/7 in the event of an incident.

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