UAA facilities department works to clear water and mud from the north entrance of the Constium Library following flooding from a burst water main. Photo by Matthew Schmitz.
Update 8:36 p.m. 2-20-2024: According to an email from UAA, the Consortium Library will reopen at 8 a.m. on Feb. 21, with modified hours. The north entrance of the building will be closed pending repairs of the damaged water main.
The north parking lot and north entrance of the Consortium Library saw heavy flooding the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 19, after an underground water main broke.
As water bubbled up from the ground, a steady flow worked its way west through the parking lot. The sidewalk of the north entrance was also submerged in water that flowed into a storm drain near the ARLIS section of the library.
UAA facilities arrived around noon to survey the damage and begin work to stop the water. In a few hours, the valves leading to the damaged section of pipe had been closed and the flooding was stopped.
In an interview with The Northern Light, Philip Bacher, associate director of maintenance and operations, said that the damaged pipe was an underground freshwater water line supplying water to the library.
He said that they think the damage occurred because of a failed underground valve that controls the supply of water; though, to know for sure will likely require an excavation of the damaged section.
“We’ll almost certainly need to dig something up,” said Bacher.
He said it’s likely the library will be shut for a few days.
Bauker said that UAA would be responsible for the cost of replacing the damaged pipe because it is university property.
Some water found its way into the library, soaking carpet along the northern wall of the building and getting into the north entrance and a stairwell in ARLIS.
Lorelei Sterling spoke with The Northern Light following the incident.
Sterling is the head of access services for the library and the library building manager.
She said that none of the library materials were damaged, noting that all collections in the library are elevated 4” off the ground for this very reason.
She said that the library had to close because the water to the building was shut off, and it supplies fire suppression systems and the bathrooms. She said the building would not be able to reopen until water pressure was restored.
Sterling said that it’s not likely there will be long-term impacts to library operations.
“It will be short term, we just don’t know if it will be hours or days.”
Sterling said that her main concern going forward was the potential for mold developing and getting into the library’s collection. She said that UAA’s janitorial service worked quickly to clean up the water and they were currently working to dry the wet areas — noting how problematic mold in libraries can be.
At time of publication it isn’t clear how long the library will be closed.
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