A midday incident on June 8, 2004 on the construction site of the new biosciences complex had – literally – a waterfall of consequences.
Water cascaded into the Marie-Curie parking lot and adjacent campus buildings when a water main broke. “The leak originated from a domestic pipe,” said Raymond Michon, assistant director at the Physical Resources Service, who manages the biosciences complex construction project. The exact cause of the break is still being investigated, he added.
Bemused staff members and students looked from the sidelines as the water spilled into the buildings.
Michon's team, aided by Protection Services, acted quickly to stop the flow but “it took a while before they could stem the leak,” said Suzanne Gagnon, an administrative officer at Materials Management Services.
The water infiltrated the area near 139-141 Louis Pasteur and created headaches for a few administrative units, most notably Materials Management Services, which has had to relocate 12 employees. The flood temporarily shut down Protection Services’ control centre, further complicating a risky situation.
Other affected services were Reprography and Physical Resources. In addition, two classrooms had to be evacuated. Michon estimates that the incident affected some 40 staff members in all.
As a result of the flood, numerous walls and floor coverings damaged by water will need to be replaced.
