In September, the Athens area saw a total of 8.57 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. While the flooding has greatly impacted the streets of Athens, it has also affected the lecture and residence halls of Ohio University. Students and staff alike have been affected by leaking roofs and flooding floors.
Samantha Pelham, media relations manager for University Communications and Marketing, said OU’s awareness of flooding on campus is being watched.
“At this time, we are not aware of any substantial flooding or water damage within OHIO's residence halls or academic spaces due to the recent heavy rainfall that has impacted the region,” Pelham said in an email. “Facilities Management has been made aware of some related, minor water intrusions, and their team will continue to monitor and address any reported issues.”
Paige Ivan, a student studying musical theater, said the recent storms have affected many floors of Glidden Hall. She said it is specifically prevalent on the sixth floor, where the practice rooms are.
According to Ivan, the water seems to seep through the floor and creates puddles throughout the hall.
On the first floor, Ivan said after storms or other issues in the building, ceiling tiles will fall and puddles will fill the hallway. She also said due to issues with water intake, the elevator will oftentimes be out of use.
“It’s definitely hindered the use of the building,” Ivan said. “Oftentimes it's the reason why the elevator will stop working and you’ll be taking six flights up stairs…it’s definitely inconvenient. It makes for a very not pleasant environment.”
Ivan also noted how, while the flooding on the sixth floor of Glidden is new, the issues on the first floor are a yearly occurrence.
“It’s happened enough where there’s been so much flooding in the Glidden first floor especially, that it’s just kind of become a thing where even this year I’ve noticed I have started warning the freshmen about it, and just kind of like, ‘It's that time of year when the Glidden first floor starts to flood or have like issues with the water,’” Ivan said.
Ivan said maintenance has done its best to control the flooding, putting out garbage cans in the hallways to catch the water. While she is unaware of whether this is true or not, she said it feels like maintenance is not given enough resources to deal with the water issues and they often implement temporary solutions.
After requesting specific information regarding the issues at Glidden Hall, Pelham said OU did receive two work orders for the building.
“In September, Ohio University's Facilities Management team received two work orders related to minor water intrusion in Glidden Hall, likely due to the substantial amount of rainfall across the region that occurred during that time,” Pelham said in an email. “Both reports were addressed promptly, with Facilities making repairs and/or coordinating additional remediation work as needed.”
Ivan also said she had seen some slight leaking in her freshman year dorm hall, Lincoln Hall, two years ago.
She recounted an incident of flooding in the hall which occurred towards the end of winter break.
“RA’s constantly knocking on my door because there was huge flooding in the building, and it was like seeping through all the carpet, and it put the elevator out of use for like a month,” Ivan said.
Zachary Babcock, a freshman studying music production and recording industry, lives in The Convo and spoke about the flooding across West Green.
According to Babcock, the worst of the flooding is by Grosvenor Hall, where he said “the road was covered in water and they had like construction to like dig out one of the drains.”
Violet Simcic, a freshman with an undecided major, said she has seen a lot of flooding in and near the parking lots on South Green.
Simcic also said the recent storms caused her ceiling to leak into her dorm in Pickering Hall.
“When we had that big rainstorm it started dripping through the roof,” Simcic said. “We're on the fourth floor, so I guess the rain came through. But yeah, there's like marks all over our ceiling…leaking through all over onto our desks and stuff.”
She said the leaking has not been an issue since then.
If any students or faculty see water issues in either academic or residence buildings, OU asks that you contact Facilities Management at 740-593-2911.
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