William Larsen

Bad Engineering

I was at IPFW on Saturday with my wife. When we go to Walb Student Union, there were at least ten Stanley Steamer trucks working on sucking water out of the basement level.

The loading dock has a drain in it so that water can drain out of the recessed dock area when it rains. Due to the water rising in the Maumee river, the outlet for this drain was now below the level of the river. The river decided it was easier to flow back into the storm sewer pipes at IPFW than to rise further. As the loading dock filled with water, it began to over flow the nonexistent berm into the basement area.

IPFW being an engineering school should have had a bit more insight into designing buildings and drain systems. This cannot be the first time that the Walb Student Union has had its basement flooded. This is an unnecessary expense each time it occurs. Why not put check valves into the dock drain? This would certainly keep the water from flowing backwards from the river into the student union. Our tax dollars at work.

posted by William Larsen @ 9:59 PM