On the afternoon of Sunday, February 10, 2019, a sprinkler head in one of the SJC women's residence suites caused a significant water leak in the residence which affected not only the sixth floor where it occurred, but also several floors below. The water was shut off and cleaning crews were dispatched to the site. The building was initially closed to all residents, with temporary access provided only for getting essential belongings.
In a very short period of time, a plan was developed to provide the displaced residents with alternate accommodation (at various locations around campus) and food (at either SJC Dining Hall or Lister Hall), as well as transportation to the temporary accommodation. Arrangements were also made to store the personal belongings of all residents whose rooms had been affected by the incident. Equally concerning to many residents was the fact that this happened the week before Reading Week, when many mid-term exams are scheduled. The Dean of Students at UofA was informed about the situation and arrangements were made for students to defer exams and other assignments where needed.
Fortunately, many residents whose rooms were in unaffected parts of the building were able to return to the residence later that Sunday evening, with others following throughout the week, as clean-up crews prepared rooms for occupancy again. A townhall meeting was held at SJC on Monday evening to provide students with updates and answer questions. Those residents who would need to be in alternate accommodation for a longer period of time were given temporary access to their rooms in order to gather needed items and, in some cases, box up belongings for temporary storage.
Thankfully, many residents were able to return much earlier than originally anticipated. Of the 92 residents directly affected by the leak, 70 were able to return to their rooms by the Friday following the event and 12 more moved back the following week either in to their previous rooms, or into rooms that were unoccupied, and the remaining 10 are being housed in Nipisiy House in East Campus Village until their suites have been fully restored. In the meantime, as restoration work takes place (primarily the replacement of drywall and insulation and subsequent painting), the building is being monitored to ensure that no mould issues develop.
Our thanks to the University of Alberta's Office of Emergency Management who guided our efforts, and to Philip Stack, the RLA's, and the Emergency Response Team, who worked to address this unfortunate incident in the initial hours and days after it happened. And finally, a huge thank you to the residents for their understanding, patience and cooperation during this time.