December 17, 2008

Water service to several campus buildings has been restored after a water main adjacent to the Henry Madden Library construction site at California State University, Fresno ruptured early today. The break in the water main forced a temporary shut off to a portion of the library and four nearby buildings so repairs could be made.

Sara Wallet, the library project coordinator for Facilities Management at Fresno State, said the mishap occurred when a backhoe was exposing a water valve that needed replacing. The backhoe’s bucket snagged a tree root and broke the pipe, which is just east of the South Gym and west of the new wing of the Madden Library.

The break happened shortly before 8 a.m. when the third day of fall semester final examinations began. Finals were administered as scheduled.

Water quickly flooded a small portion of the Peace Garden, which is being renovated and expanded as part of the $105 million library project. Water was shut off in the area so the broken line could be replaced along with the valve, affecting the South and North gyms, the south portion of the library and the Social Sciences and Family and Food Science buildings for several hours.

All buildings were posted with notices directing students, faculty and staff to other buildings that were unaffected by the break. Employees were immediately notified on the university’s e-mail list serve, INFOMAIL. No damage occurred in the affected buildings, said Robert Boyd, associate vice president for Facilities Management.

Boyd said a water-main break is “a fairly routine occurrence on a project like this.”

Service was restored to the affected buildings at about 1:45 p.m. The buildings are now operational as finals continue until December 18.