by Laura Mueller-Soppart, News Staff
More than 10 buildings throughout campus experienced water damage from the recent heavy rainstorms, including International Village, which opened just over six months ago, according to Stanley Duci, director of customer service for facilities.
The first area to experience flooding is where Mugar, Dodge and Ell Hall buildings all meet, said Duci.
However, some residence halls have been nearly flooded, and despite several work orders, have not been fixed, students said.
“It leaked the last time it rained, they did nothing,” said Senator Michael Hans at a Student Government Association (SGA) meeting Monday. “Me and my roommate have put in four [work orders] so far. My computer was damaged when I was at work, my entire carpet is soaked, the walls are wet, the room smells horrible. They’ve come by three times now and said they cant do anything at all. I said ‘The room is a mess and relatively unlivable.’ They said, ‘I’ll get back to you.’ Nothing. I’m not really sure where to take it at this point.”
Sean Maloney, SGA vice president of student services, suggested to immediately submit a work order via myNEU. Other areas of campus that have experienced leaks do have explanations, though.
The tunnel area is one of the lowest points on campus according to Duci.
“When the conditions are right – I really mean wrong for us – this area tends to take on water, even after implementing a host of preventive measures including excavation to permit rainwater to more readily be absorbed into the ground, and large scale pumping,” Duci said.
The Facilities Department brings on additional personnel in order to limit the water damage and the inconvenience flooding causes, he said.
In International Village, the skylight began leaking on one of the first days of heavy rain. A section of the dining hall was blocked off and placing plastic bins were put under the windows.
“The system they have set up here isn’t really in my way,” said Alexander Cottle, a sophomore behavioral neuroscience major. “However, considering this building is brand new on one hand it is expected for there to be glitches, and on the other there should not be much of an excuse for a six-month old roof to already be leaking.”
SGA Director of Public Relations Matt Soleyn also maintained a frequent Twitter update on the status of flooding buildings.
Duci said the most severe flooding occurred in 1996 when rain water surged through Kenmore Station, closing underground sections of the Green Line for months, flooding the basement of the Museum of Fine Arts, and inflicting severe water damage throughout the area.
The preventive measures mentioned earlier were put in place two years ago in 2008, after substantial flooding occurred in the basement of the Curry Student Center and Ell Hall.
The Northeastern campus is located between the Muddy and Charles River. These two rivers are historically known to cause damage to adjacent property. An Army Corps of Engineers project will begin next fall at Muddy River in order to install a permanent solution to the problem.
