Ohio University officials had to dig a hole through campus’ roads after an underground chilled water pipe leaked last week.
The hole, near Shively Hall, was about eight feet deep when officials began repairing the pipe. The leak caused some damage to the grass and East Green Drive.
University officials temporarily repaired the pipe within six hours after the break to access the pipes’ chilled water required to provide air conditioning to campus buildings.
The cost of the damage is estimated at $10,000 but the cause of the leak remains unknown — for now, said Mike Gebeke, executive director of Facilities Management.
“These pipes are buried directly in the ground. It could be ‘wear and tear’ from the water flowing through the pipe to erosion from the soil around the pipe.”
The pipe will be fixed permanently this week.
“It is not a large repair by any means,” he said. “It is a relatively standard maintenance repair that we have to be prepared to do on campus.”
The pipe was used for 10 years, a short amount of time compared to how long other pipes on campus have been in place.
This incident is unrelated to last month’s tunnel collapse on University Terrace, said OU spokesperson Katie Quaranta.
Portions of University Terrace still remain closed to accommodate the tunnel’s repair.
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