David Olender

A water main break left several buildings on the San Diego State campus without air
conditioning or employees on Tuesday.

The break occurred at about 9:50 p.m. on Monday night when a 24-inch pipe burst
in the area between Student Services West and Manchester Hall, said campus
spokeswoman Gina Jacobs.

SDSU Police and firefighters responded to the broken pipe, which sent a still
unknown amount of water surging down Centennial Walkway towards East
Commons and the Malcolm A. Love Library.

While a small amount of water entered the library, there are no serious damages
reported to the library or the surrounding buildings at this time.

Most buildings on campus are currently without air conditioning with the exception
of the dorms, the Children’s Center and the Extended Studies building8212;all located
on the exterior of the campus, said Jacobs.

Drinking fountains and restrooms are still in full service and aren’t affected by
repairs to the water main.

Construction crews are expected to continue repairs through today and Wednesday
and possibly until the end of the week, according to Jacobs.

At noon on Tuesday, all “non-essential” university employees were sent home due
to “extreme heat and air conditioning that isn’t functioning in most buildings,” said
Jacobs.

Much of the SDSU campus has been closed for the duration of the day with the
exception of select buildings such as the Love Library and the SDSU bookstore.
SDSU will be open and fully operational at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning and there are
not expected to be any upcoming event cancellations.

The cause of the burst is still to be identified and everything is expected to be back
to normal when classes begin on Monday, August 30.