With three separate floods having wreaked havoc in the high rise dormitories during the month of January alone, residents have publicly questioned why the buildings' infrastructures have not been updated since they were first built in the 1970s.
University officials cite a lack of available funds as the reason for not replacing the main pipes. They say such a project would cost roughly $3 million for each of the three buildings -- Hamilton, Harrison and Harnwell college houses.
Betsy Robinson, Locust Area director for Facilities Services, said that the plumbing renovations are a priority for her department but that the project would require cooperation from Housing Services and College Houses and Academic Services.
Moreover, she said, the budget currently is not substantial enough for these renovations--.
"The University doesn't have lots of money, but it has lots of obligations," said Phil Nichols, the faculty director of CHAS.
The University's fiscal year 2005 operating budget is $2.152 billion.
"It is important to note that a significant portion of our revenue is restricted," said Bonnie Gibson, vice president of budget and management analysis. "It can only be used for specific purposes, defined by donor agreement in the case of gifts and endowments, or by contract terms in the case of grants."
Though the Quadrangle has received numerous donations -- including $10 million from Board of Trustees Chairman James Riepe in October and $11.5 million from alumni Alan Hassenfeld and Jerome and Anne Fisher in 2002 -- the high rises have not received similar financial support from alumni.
"It is true we haven't enjoyed the level of gifts that we anticipated," Nichols said regarding the lack of donations made to the high rises. "Before the renovations, the high rises weren't physically striking. Even now, there's not that feeling of home."
Last week, a string of donations were made to the University totaling nearly $30 million, but none were directed toward the College House system.
Two major donations of $10 million each are being used to build a new science building behind the Quadrangle and to recruit faculty who will work between any two of the University's schools.
When asked if there were better ways of allocating the recent donations, Nichols commented, "From a selfish point of view, of course. From a Penn point of view, no. I fight like heck to get money for the college houses, but I can't be upset when it goes to serious, important projects."
Though the $9 million needed to renovate the risers -- supply line pipes that rise from one story to the next -- has been difficult to allocate, that figure may not be large enough to truly remedy the problems with the three buildings.
Omar Blaik, the senior vice president of Facilities and Real Estate Services, noted that the estimated $3 million per dormitory would not cover plumbing in kitchens and bathrooms.
Though he was unable to give a definite estimate of how much a total infrastructure renovation would cost, Blaik guessed it could be as much as $90 million dollars per building.
"That is a much more expensive upgrade," Blaik said, adding that "it would be a waste just to change the risers."
But Robinson said that the new risers would be beneficial because Facilities would be able to "isolate a floor or even a room as opposed to the whole building" if flooding occurred, Robinson said.
The dormitories are currently undergoing an $80 million set of renovations, which will mainly go towards updating the exterior of the buildings and making them weatherproof.
Nichols emphasized that the facade upgrade was "not an issue of 'We have some extra money and lying around ... [so] let's make the high rises pretty.'"
"It was an imperative safety issue," he said, adding that slabs of concrete had been falling off the buildings.
Though Nichols cited the need for additional interior improvements, he said that the old pipes are not the only reason that flooding occurs.
"This infrastructure issue is really serious and should be a high priority, but it is not all just old pipes," Nichols said, adding that when students leave windows open for longer periods of time, pipes tend to freeze and cause flooding.
