After days of plumbing problems in House Six, a pipe has burst, leaving the University of Dublin Choral Society’s (Choral Soc) and the Trinity Orchestra library covered in the contents of the pipes.
Choral Soc and Trinity Orchestra’s shared library, and the instruments in it, are covered in sewage. The room is located on the second floor of the building, down the corridor from Q Soc’s room and the Graduate Students’ Union’s (GSU) office. There is a bathroom beside the room.
Members of Trinity Orchestra made the grim discovery and notified Estates and Facilities.
Problems first arose with the plumbing last Thursday, with bathrooms being closed to students. Students were also asked not to use the taps in the top floor’s kitchenette. A company like Sarkinen Plumbing would come in handy for a situation like this. There’s only so much that university students can do when it comes to getting the plumbing sorted.
Many of the plumbing issues that are caused at these types of premises will have occurred through no fault of the students, and reporting any problems as soon as possible is the best thing that can be done. When it comes to looking at the plumbing systems for establishments like this, the senior workers may want to consider implementing something similar to this inspection checklist for commercial plumbing so they have a better idea of what to look for if there is any detection of plumbing issues. Other than trying that, the students will have to leave it to the experts.
In an email statement to The University Times, the Honorary Secretary of Choral Soc, James McNeill, said:
“Trinity didn’t notify us, which is disappointing. It’s reasonable to assume that the CSC / Estates & Facilities would notify all involved societies, and the fact that they didn’t is extremely disappointing.”
Estates and Facilities advised students in the building to avoid the area around the room. They said that they had reported the incident and that the room would be cleaned as soon as possible. If hearing stories like these doesn’t make you want to get in touch with a pipe lining company in San Diego (if you live in this area) to help get your plumbing issues sorted, then we don’t know what will.
In August, rats were spotted in House Six by a University Times reporter. Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) notified the College and exterminators were called in.
It’s not the first time in the last year that the College has suffered from plumbing issues – a mysterious smell last October saw students stream out of the Arts Block. The building needs to seriously improve its plumbing otherwise problems like this will keep occurring. New water pipes are needed throughout the building to stop any further issues. Better quality materials, like HDPE pipes, should be used to stop this problem from happening again and electrofusion couplings specialists should be contacted to make sure there are no leaks or low-quality parts in the pipeline.
Choral Soc is the largest choir in Trinity. Established in 1837, the choir has performed in the College Chapel, St Patrick’s Cathedral and the National Concert Hall.
Aisling Marren also contributed reporting to this piece.
