Ongoing sewage troubles shut down the Mug

Brian Farkas News Editor

After a series of sewage leaks in Matthew’s Mug, the campus bar has been shut down until extensive repairs can be made.

The first sewage backup flooded the Mug on Saturday, Jan. 27. However, the blocked sanitation line did not shut down the facility, as it was reported by 1 a.m. and repaired by 3 a.m. At the time, Building and Grounds (B&G) Technical Services and Operations Manager Pat Gilchrist believed that this type of blockage was fairly common, although the students who continued to use the Mug’s bathrooms made it more difficult to fix.

The second flooding occurred on Tuesday, Feb. 12, leading to the cancellation of Jazz Night. “The floor was wet, but the situation wasn’t horrible,” said Retreat Director of Marketing and Sustainability Ken Oldehoff. Oldehoff notified B&G, who promptly sent over personnel to sanitize the facility and examine the plumbing. “When the line was snaked 334 feet, nothing but paper towel was pulled out,” said Director of Facility Operations for Buildings and Grounds Kiki Williams.

But after the third and most recent incident, B&G is sure that the pipes are to blame. “The sanitary line servicing the College Center is original clay,” said Williams. After sending a camera into the line, B&G determined that “the cause of the multiple back-ups [were] sags in the pipe 27 feet out and 74 feet out, as well as a broken section of pipe 138 feet out.”

According to an all-campus e-mail sent out on Feb. 22 by Dean of the College Judy Jackson, “This work is expected to take two weeks to complete [and] the Mug will have to remain closed through that time.” Because the sewage system of Main Building is self-contained, any backup results in a flooding of the basement, which is the lowest area. Due to the nature of the leak, B&G will seek clearance from Environmental Health and Safety.

B&G is working with a contractor to determine the most efficient way to re-pipe the system through an existing manhole. If feasible, the use of an existing manhole, such as the one behind the College Center loading dock, would prevent having to entirely reinstall 178 feet of piping.

Vassar Student Association Organization Executive Sam Charner ’08 assisted in rescheduling the activities of a number of groups who were planning to use the Mug for special events over the next week. “I made sure every Mug night is taken care of. Some organizations have been moved to the Aula, others to the Villard Room, but the important thing is that nothing had to be cancelled,” he said.

The Mug is expected to be fully operational by the time students return from spring break on March 24.