UW-Stout Student Center Flooded By Suspected Frozen Pipe

A suspected frozen pipe burst Wednesday night flooding the University of Wisconsin-Stout Memorial Student Union.

Video shot by custodial staff showed streams of water pouring from light fixtures onto a student dining area.

University spokesman Doug Mell said the broken pipe was part of the building’s sprinkler system near the roof. He said a drop in pressure alerted the city fire department just after 8:00 p.m. Mell says the amount of damage hasn’t been determined yet.

“We really have no way of knowing,” said Mell. “A lot of it depends on, obviously, our clean up cost but also how much of that ceiling, if all of it has to be repaired and how much stuff is actually lost. That’s all going to take a while to sort out.”

Because of the holiday break no students were in the Memorial Student Union when the pipe broke. Mell said that has made it easier to close the building and allow water restoration crews to clean up the mess.

“So, really … if this had to happen and nobody wishes that it happened, but if this had to happen, it happened at about the best time that it could have.”

The Memorial Student Union was built in 1985 and was renovated in 2010. Mell said the university hopes to reopen the majority of the building by Jan. 22. He’s optimistic that the the dining area, which was flooded, can be opened by the time students return for class Jan. 22.