The University of Wisconsin-Madison reopened dozens of buildings Aug. 10 that it closed earlier this summer due to a water main break.
A chilled water line broke June 17, a utility failure that affected nearly every UW-Madison building, UW officials said at a UW Board of Regents meeting in July. To ensure available air conditioning was directed to the most important priorities, such as critical research and patient care, AC was shut down in some buildings and led to higher-than-normal temperatures in others.
Altogether, 34 buildings of the university’s more than 400 were affected, including Bascom Hall.
UW-Madison remained open despite the break. Officials relocated some summer classes, and asked employees in affected buildings to work from home or relocate.
Repairs took nearly two months because the broken pipe was 4 feet in diameter and 20 feet underground.
Kelly Meyerhofer has covered higher education in Wisconsin since 2018. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: AC returns to dozens of UW-Madison buildings weeks after pipe break
Reporting by Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
