Over the past semester, Rockhurst University students have faced at least a half a dozen disruptions in campus housing, such as water shutoffs and elevator outages in residential buildings that have occurred with limited notice or explanation, according to a review of email and text alerts sent by the university.
The issue began in mid-September. Students living in the Townhouse Village (THV) and Xavier-Loyola (XL) residence halls reported several instances of sudden water shutoffs and elevator outages.
The first shutdown occurred on Sept. 16, when to their surprise, residents woke to find no running water. The university later said the outage was caused by unannounced city maintenance.
“I thought our THV was broken,” said sophomore Sadie Conway. “I was lucky that I had already brushed my teeth in the morning, but we were using water bottles to wash our hands.”
Less than a month later, on Oct. 7, a campuswide email announced that the city would shut off water from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day. Students were advised to plan accordingly, but water did not return to XL or the MAC as expected and students were left without access to showers, sinks, or toilets throughout the night.
During that outage, student-athletes returning from early morning practices said they had to attend classes without showering and used academic buildings for restrooms.
“It’s annoying not being able to shower after practice and having to sit in class all day,” said sophomore Lauren Sandstrom, who lives in the THVs. “Not being able to get water from my own living space is inconvenient.”
Another scheduled shutdown took place on Oct. 16 while Lexington Plumbing completed repairs that required water to be shut off for several hours. Then, on Oct. 23 and 24, students received notice that multiple elevators in McGee, Conway, Sedgwick and Massman Hall would be temporarily out of service for inspection.
On Nov. 3, students received another notice from Ann Hinck, director of campus events, stating that multiple elevators across campus would be temporarily taken offline throughout the week for annual inspections. The message noted that students who were unable to access classrooms or meeting spaces due to elevator outages could request relocation or accommodations.
Students living in the THV 300 block say they have been hit the hardest. Those residents have received more than three separate notices in October alone about both scheduled and unexpected water outages. One message announced water would be shut off from 10 a.m.–1 p.m.; the next week, residents were told water would be shut off at noon with no estimated time about when it would return.
In emails throughout the semester, the Office of Residence Life stated that most of the outages were tied to either city maintenance or work by outside plumbing contractors. The university noted that some city-related shutoffs occurred without advance notice, and apologized for the inconvenience.
In other cases, the outages were planned. Outside vendors, such as Lexington Plumbing, were brought in to make scheduled repairs on campus water lines, and Residence Life notified students in advance. Those emails advised residents to prepare by filling water jugs and using facilities in other campus buildings.
The emails acknowledged student frustration and apologized for the inconvenience, and they also emphasized that the university is working with both the city and contractors to reduce future outages and improve communication going forward.
Despite these explanations, many students say the recurring outages have become frustrating.
When asked about the cause of the ongoing problems, Jennifer Reid, associate vice president for student development, said the issue is rooted in aging infrastructure shared by both the city and the university.
“The city has done some shut-offs, and the university has also had to do some water shut-offs.
“Anytime water is shut down, there could be impacts on existing infrastructure,” Reid said. “Most city lines that run underground through campus are over 100 years old.”
Reid explained that some lines are still city-owned, while others have transferred to the university over time.
On whether students should expect more outages, Reid said it is difficult to predict.
“Extremely cold conditions can impact pipes, and we have no way to know what seasonal fluctuations in temperature could impact,” she said. “We never want to shut off water and inconvenience students living on campus, but sometimes emergency repairs need to be made.”
Reid said Facilities is taking steps to plan ahead whenever possible and minimize future disruptions.
“Unfortunately, underground line breaks are not predictable,” Reid said. “University Facilities strives to plan ahead for any planned maintenance, to give as much notice as possible. To the extent we are able, we plan repairs for break periods, but, again, sometimes situations call for emergency repair.”
Regarding communication, Reid said the university uses multiple platforms to notify residents but noted that message effectiveness depends on student engagement.
“We do our best to notify residents via email and text messaging through the eRez platform,” she said. “But those communications are only effective if students read them. Resident assistants also notify residents through GroupMes that they’ve set up, but again, these communications are only effective if students opt into those systems and read the messages the RAs put out.”
As the semester winds down, students and staff alike are hoping that the worst of the disruptions are behind them. While many students say they understand that some repairs are unavoidable, they also say they want more consistent communication and clarity when outages occur. Meanwhile, university officials continue working with the city to modernize aging infrastructure.
