Toilet waterworks fouls Harnwell mezannine

It's raining, it's pouring — inside Harnwell College House.

Right before midnight on Oct. 20, drops of water began to fall from the ceiling above the mezzanine in Harnwell. The flow of the dripping water increased until puddles formed, two ceiling tiles fell down and no one could study in peace in the first floor lounge.

College senior Imran Cronk was in Harnwell at 11:50 p.m. waiting for the elevator with friends when they heard the sound of falling water. They went up to the mezzanine for closer inspection and found water dripping from the ceiling.

"It was surreal. People thought it was funny, but they were also confused. No one was afraid, but one student was concerned that the whole building might have to be evacuated and it would disrupt their studying," Cronk said.

He said it looked like a waterfall, and stood nearby watching the flow intensify for over 15 minutes. In that time, he captured a video of the indoor "rain" and a ceiling tile falling to the ground.

It was an amusing sight, but everyone from students to front desk workers and security remained calm.

"There wasn't any kind of panic — everything was normal, except for the waterfall coming out of the ceiling and two of the ceiling tiles collapsing to the floor," Cronk added.

An overflowing toilet on the floor above the lounge was the source of the water dripping through the ceiling, Ken Ogawa, executive director of maintenance for Facilities and Real Estate Services said.

A call was made to FRES, and the leak was fixed roughly 20 minutes later. Housekeeping then cleaned up the toilet water, and the ceiling tiles that fell to the ground were replaced the next day. 

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