On Sunday, Jan. 26, first-year Max Bonne was getting out of the shower around 5 a.m. when he heard a noise at the end of the hall. As he went to investigate the commotion, a stream of water came rushing out of the bathroom. Bonne and his friend, first-year Aysa Jones, began banging on the doors of fellow residents and hall staff.
Within five minutes, everyone was up and calling Campus Safety.
“I started a small dam across the hallway but I realized that wasn't gonna work because the water just kept rising and seeping through the towels,” Bonne said. “So I ended up just putting towels across my own door and kept replacing towels and kept ringing them out to [try to] keep it from entering my door.”
According to Residence Life, Bonne is just one of the 14 residents affected by the recent flood in Villa Maria Hall caused by a coupler weld failure, which is the device that connects the flushing mechanism of the urinal to the domestic water line. The failed coupling sent water into seven double-occupancy rooms, damaging living spaces and belongings.
As the incident continues to unfold, students in the hall express frustration as repairs in the affected areas — including replacing the flooring in a carpeted student room — remain ongoing. Additionally, affected students await answers from Residence Life regarding potential compensation for damaged belongings.
Every student who applies for on-campus housing must agree to the Resident Hall and Food Service Contract. According to the 2024-25 Student Housing Contract, the University is not held liable for loss or damage to personal property in student rooms by fire, theft, vandalism or other casualty.
However, the University plans to support students who experienced property loss or damage by the flood on a case-by-case basis, according to the Director of Residence Life, Andrew Weingarten.
“Three students in Villa have let us know that they experienced some property damage and loss,” Weingarten said. “I have asked all three students to document the details of their property loss and damage using an excel spreadsheet so that I can get the details to the appropriate parties at the University. We will work to make sure our students are taken care of.”
According to sophomore resident Blake Miller, students whose items were affected by the flood are in the process of identifying damaged personal property, but have not heard from Residence Life on whether or not they will be partially or completely compensated for their damaged or lost personal items.
For Miller, the flood not only disrupted the hall’s morning and caused physical damage but also continues to weigh on students’ mental health.
“I definitely felt frustrated seeing what happened to all the gentlemen that got their stuff messed up,” Miller said. “They’re stressing about getting reimbursed for [those] damages. I know they're still struggling with that [and it’s] taking this mental toll.”
According to Joe Cates, director of facilities services, the failed coupling was replaced the same day of the incident. Facilities data archives also indicate that three work order requests have been submitted and completed for the urinal since August, 1 2023, none of which correlated to the failure of the coupling.
Although water was shut off to half of the residence hall within approximately 30 minutes and mitigation efforts began promptly, several first-floor residents, including first-year Samuel Briceno, remain frustrated by ongoing disruptions and the damage to their personal belongings.
“[The flooding water] got a lot of my laundry, and [Residence Life] said it wasn't sewage water or urinal water, but it didn't really smell nice,” Briceno said. “Regardless of whether or not it was sink or shower water or if it came from the toilet, either way, it didn't leave a nice stench in the room.”
Despite the disruption to their morning, residents of Villa Maria Hall worked with Facilities to quickly mitigate the flood, and were a significant help during the incident, according to Cates.
“They jumped right in,” Cates said. “[They] assisted with moving furniture, running water vacs, checking vacant spaces and providing general support. Nobody wants to wake up to water flooding under their door at 5:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning.”
Although Cates believes that the response to the flood showcases teamwork among Campus Safety, Residence Life, Facilities Services and the Villa residents, he acknowledges that efficiency can be improved.
Facilities is working to share more building information with Campus Safety and partner on additional cross-training to reduce response times.
“That being said, we are human, we miss things,” Cates said. “I don’t believe maintenance missed anything in this instance, but if folks have additional information, please send it our way.”
Kalena O’Connell is a News Reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at oconnell27@up.edu
