A water line in one of Wichita State University’s residence buildings broke Saturday night. According to the university’s Housing and Residence Life, staff were notified of water leaking on the ground floor in Shocker Hall building C at around 7:30 p.m.
Emma May and Bailey Brewer, freshmen who live on the C0, the affected floor, said they were eating dinner in the common Lounge, Kitchen, Laundry (LKL) with a friend. Their friend went to do her laundry, and noticed flooding.
“They flew back into the (kitchen), and they were like, ‘Hey, you guys got to see this.’ And there’s water coming out of the ceiling and rushing out of the bathroom,” May said.
The students said they first noticed water coming from the ceiling and hallway in the LKL area and a public restroom on the floor.
Katie Austin, the director of Housing and Residence Life, described the issue in an email as a “crack.” She said that “about 20 residents were affected and they were offered alternative housing.”
Students whose rooms were affected were able to either stay with other students or were provided housing at the Hyatt Place, according to May and Brewer.
After they noticed the water, Brewer said she and another student went outside and back in through another door to avoid the flooding and rushed to put towels outside their doors to keep the water from reaching their rooms.
“We just found every towel that we could and threw it under the door and in front of it so that the water didn’t go in there,” Brewer said. “We just tried to pick up everything in the bedroom, just all electronics and books off the floor so that nothing got damaged because we didn’t know how bad it was gonna get.”
Meanwhile, May and other students watched the water rise around them in the LKL.
“We didn’t have any shoes on — It was our floor. We weren’t planning on going outside or anything — but we were both in the LKL trying to clean up, and the water was coming in from both doors, the laundry room and the entrance into the LKL, as well as from underneath the wall,” May said. “We resorted to sitting on the countertops because, again, no shoes … We were just sitting on the countertop until somebody got us shoes and we were able to walk around.”
Anna Alpers and Annaliese Jorgenson, two roommates living in C0, said they received a message from their residence assistant that the hall was flooding. They came downstairs from an upstairs study area to see “water pouring out of the ceiling,” according to Alpers.
The two said they rushed to pack a bag for the night, place their belongings on top of furniture and build a “dam” out of clothes and towels to prevent water from entering the room.
The water was turned off. Housing and Residence Life staff and campus police worked to evacuate the students.
A notice sent out to residents early Sunday afternoon said that the kitchens on each floor and the laundry rooms were out of order, but that students could use the water in their rooms.
In an email sent to Shocker Hall residents, Housing and Residence Life said that work to get the LKL’s back in working order would begin Wednesday, Feb. 5. The email said the LKL’s would likely be back in use by Thursday evening.
Austin said repairs will hopefully be complete within a week.
“(Monday) is our best estimate,” Austin said via email. “The water damage and restoration company will have their equipment on site likely until Friday. And then our staff will finish any repairs and cleaning. Residents have been offered the option of a permanent room change, staying at the hotel until their room is ready, or being placed in a temporary room in Shocker Hall. Each resident has been communicated with and picked their preferred option.”
May and Brewer said they were told to expect to move back in next Monday. Students affected have been allowed back onto their floor in small groups to collect belongings, Brewer and May said.
Several C0 residents emphasized that everyone living on the floor is trying to be positive about the situation.
“C0 is like a family,” Alpers said.
