A water main between McCool Hall and the construction site for the Union ruptured Monday morning, flooding the Perry Cafeteria basement, State Fountain Bakery, Appalachian Leadership Honors office and Chik-fil-a. The flooding caused each of these establishments to close temporarily.Assistant vice president for student affairs Bill Broyles said that when the main was damaged, water flowed into a steam tunnel, which leads to the Perry Cafeteria, flooding the basement and nearby establishments. The businesses had to close temporarily because the water was turned off after the rupture due to health services requirements.
“The main thing that really hurt us is that we had to turn off the water, so the cafeteria, bakery and Chik-Fil-A couldn’t operate,” Broyles said.
Superintendent for West Brothers Construction James Shackelford said McCool Hall and the Union construction site remained open after the main was ruptured. The ruptured water main belongs to the university, not the construction company, so the university had the task of fixing it.
“We dug the line up, but the university is fixing it. West Brothers just assisted,” Shackelford said.
Shackelford said he expected the repairs to be made by 3 p.m. Monday.
State Fountain Bakery manager Navarrete Ashford said he was making coffee when the building began to flood.
“I turned around and looked and water was just rushing in,” Ashford said. “It was coming in from the back.”
The bakery lost some of its business for the day, but it should reopen today, Ashford said.
Broyles said facilities management worked on repairs.
“Once the repairs are made, the lines have to be fl “This is a safety precaution and a requirement.”
Alternate locations would have been set up for these establishments today if repairs had not been made on the water main yesterday, Broyles said. Contingency plans would have been posted on the MSU Web site to alert students of the temporary changes being made.
The university’s primary concern regarding the situation was where students with meal plans would eat until repairs were made, he said. At 5 p.m. Monday, McArthur Snack Shop and Gooch’s began allowing students to pay for their food with meal plans.
The McArthur Snack Shop was open until 8:30 p.m. and Gooch’s stayed open until 11 p.m.
Repairs were successfully completed on the ruptured water main Monday. All eateries will be open for business today.