Read about products college students can't live without In Features
friday,october31, 1986
cabrinicollege,radnor,pa. 19087
vol. xxxiii,no. 7 (photo by Debbie Ferrar)
Clogcausesbig stinkon campus
On Thursday, Oct. 23, the day after the flooding in Xavier Hall, maintenance workers tried to determine whether the main sew~ge line had a break in it. The line, located to the left of Xavier was in the process of being dug up when this backhoe tipped over after falling into one of the many sink holes in that area. (photo by Chris Corcoran)
by Christy Mason It's the lowest point Gh campus and all the sewage from the campus, with the exception of the seven houses and the gatehouse, runs down to it. "When you take a shower in Grace Hall it comes down here," Mike Caranfa, director, physical plant, said. "Here" is Xavier Hall and there, on Wednesday night, Oct. 22, a pipe clogged, causing the boiler room in Xavier to flood and preventing the men from taking showers Thursday morning. According to Caranfa, on Monday, during the day, on the grounds left of Xavier Hall in the wooded area, steam was noticed coming out of sink holes. Since there are no steam lines on campus, Caranfa concluded that something was wrong with the main sewage line and that machines would have to be brought in to dig up the sewage line in order to locate a possible break. (Xavier has its own separate line). At this point, all utility companies electric, water, and so forth - had to be notified that ground was to be dug up in case any utility lines were in that area. Utility companies require a 72 hour waiting period in order to determine whether or not any of their lines will be affected by the digging. On Wednesday night, Oct. 22, John Doyle, resident manager, Xavier Hall, Keith Fogarty and Patrick McKenna,
semors and resident assistants, ~noticed water gushing out of the door marked 'high voltage."'
By late Thursday morning, Oct. 23, the sewage line was cleared and the water turned back on in Xavier. The clogged line in Xavier had nothing to do with the main sewage line which runs under Xavier.
'Morethan watercame out. All sorts of 'seNagy'things that you can't write about came out. It smelledreally rank.'
A backhoe which was used to dig for the line tipped over in one of the sink holes. It was turned right side up and again digging for the break resumed. No break, however, was found.
-John Doyle,resident manager,XavierHall
''More than water came out," Doyle said, "All sorts of 'sewagy' things that you can't write about came out. It smelled really rank." Maintenance workers were called in upon this discovery and worked all night with pumps trying to prevent the building from flooding.
According to Caranfa, colored dye was placed dowti the toilets in Xavier Hall and came through the sewage line fairly quickly indicating that there is probably no break in the line.
The biggest problem faced by maintenance was locating the possible break without being blocked by the many tree stumps at that sight.
Caranfa said that the contractor who cleared the woods to build Xavier Hall buried many of the trees which were cut down in that process. These dead trees have begun to decay or rot which causes heat.
In an effort to minimize the flooding, all water in Xavier Hall was turned off. "It happens a lot where buildings just get clogged up," Caranfa said. "There's no way to tell what happened."
When the heat hits the cold air it creates steam which explains why steam is coming out of the sinkholes.
"If a sewer line is broken, there should be a lot of wet messy stuff," Caranfa said. "The decaying trees cause the sink holes." According to Caranfa there was no odor outside because the problem was caused by decaying roots and not sewage. However, according to many Xavier residents, the smell inside was very unpleasant.
'The guys in my quad went to Woodcrestto shower:It was pretty funny. -Jim Steffler,sophomore
"The first floor, lower north apartment reeked," Joel Zazyczny, sophomore, said. According to Doyle, the men thought the situation was "hilarious" because "they were right on a sewage dump." Because they couldn't shower before their 8:30 classes, some men simply put on their baseball hats and went to class.
Others, however, finding that situation intolerable decided to take showers across the street at Woodcrest. "The guys in my quad went to Woodcrest to shower," Jim Steffier, sophomore, said. "It was pretty funny."