Pipe leak causes bubbling and steam near Olmsted – The Times-Delphic

Outside the Olmsted Center, the sidewalk sprayed scalding water with audible gurgling sounds and bursts of steam. Inhaling the vapor isn't dangerous, but that hasn't stopped students from voicing their concerns on YikYak and other social media platforms.

“We have a fault in the piping there that can have many different causes, from a bad weld to electrolysis that caused the pipe to erode or corrode and ultimately cause a leak,” says Dennis Belieu , HVAC utility manager, said.

The bubbling outside the Olmsted Center comes from an underground leak in one of the steam vaults on campus, the vault that supplies Hubbell Dining Hall. The leak appeared in recent months and initially appeared to be steam, Belieu said.

“From time to time on campus you will notice some steam coming up from the earthen vaults where there are manholes, these steel covers on the concrete surfaces,” Belieu said. “These are steam vaults, as we call them, and the steam and condensate pipes run through them, branch off and go into the buildings.”

The leak has not yet been fixed for various reasons. These include time and budget constraints, as well as the need to shut off hot water supplies to some buildings to safely fix the leak. The steam vaults and pipes provide heating and cooling to the campus, including heating and cooling water.

“We try not to disrupt functions in any of the buildings, but especially Hubbell Dining [Hall]that gives students, faculty and workers here access to all types of food,” Belieu said. “When we impact them, it's partly because they can use steam to cook, but that destroys the dishwasher, the automatic dishwasher. Without that steam pressure, they can’t disinfect.”

Kevin Moran, executive director of facilities, planning and management, said his department is discussing temporarily shutting off steam supply to the campus so a valve can be safely installed in a shaft outside Hubbell to ensure it holds while the Facilities repairing the steam leak outside the Olmsted Center.

“[The] The exact timeline is still being developed and will be communicated to students, staff and faculty upon completion,” Moran said in an email interview. “Students who remain on campus during fall break will be notified of where alternative showers are available to them during this time.”

Leaks also cause steam from the sidewalk near the Bell Center or running water near Old Main. Belieu said the plant crew replaced the pipe near Old Main.

While the steam is not dangerous, consisting mostly of water and treated with a few chemical treatments, it is at a temperature of about 200 degrees at the point of the leak, so Belieu didn't want people going near the steam. That prompted the orange cone and later the goal, Belieu said.

Drake has numerous underground pipes, including cooling water pipes, steam and condensate pipes, and domestic water pipes.

“Occasionally a leak will occur in a pipe, and depending on the level of integrity of the pipe, a small repair may be sufficient rather than a complete pipe replacement,” Moran said in an email interview. “Costs and disruption to campus are taken into account when deciding how to address a leak.”

Jack Harrington, Student Senator for Facilities and Technology, informs students about custody, supply and maintenance issues on campus.

“One of my initiatives will be [being] “This is more transparent for all Drake students,” Harrington said. “I think we'll start some sort of email process and a few other things to help students understand more about what's going on with something like this [this leak].”

Harrington added that there will be more communication regarding facility-related events in the coming weeks and months.