On  June 2, Elgin Community College experienced a water main break that led to parts of Building M being closed off to faculty and staff.

The water main break led ECC to declare a state of emergency for the building, according to an email sent out by the college. 

According to the email, in-person Continuing Education classes were the only courses directly affected by the water main break and have been moved to Building G.

When the water main broke, it led to excess water that seeped from both the men’s and women’s bathrooms.

“Engineering was notified of rising water at the west end of Building M and discovered water rapidly coming up through the floor slab in the men’s and women’s restrooms,” according to ECC’s facilities team.

Eventually, ECC’s operations shut off the city water valve and worked on removing the excess water for a couple of hours.

“Operations shut off the city water valve and worked for approximately two hours to remove standing water,” according to Facilities. The West Wing of Building M was affected, however the central and east portions of Building M were not affected.

Earlier during the spring semester, ECC had a similar incident with a water main break that occurred in Building J, which is adjacent to Building M.

On Jan. 30, a water main broke on Hoffer Drive underneath a pedestrian walkway, according to an email sent by Dean of Students Vinny Cascio.

“Our area was not really impacted by the break; it was fixed very quickly,” said Director of Athletics and Wellness, Kent Payne, at the time of the incident.

Expenditures following that incident alone amounted to nearly $10,000.

The exact amount was $9,863.34 dollars, and the asphalt is yet to be laid, according to Paralegal Erin Schmalen for Elgin Community College. The expenditures for Building M’s water main break, however, are still under review.

Facilities found the source of Building M’s water main break to be an eight-inch sprinkler main that was found under the floor slab, according to them.

According to the email sent by ECC, there were no reported injuries that came about from the incident.