What is behind Guilford's persistent steam leaf? – The Guilfordian

The steam that leaves Guilford College under the Guilford College has been a nuisance for students since last autumn. The steam outside of Hege and the royal houses and elsewhere on the campus comes from the 80-year-old network for heating and hot water pipes, which is repaired by maintenance.

The students have been tolerating the steam for months and blocking paths with an unpleasant wet cloud. Bryan Fernandes, an early student, noticed the steam for the first time on the way to the library about a year ago.

Once just an isolated cloud from a man hole outside of Mary Hobbs, the steam problem has spread to a legendary tree stump near King and some outputs outside the Duke. At colder morning, the steam is thick enough to block the view of a student.

While the steam seems to spread over the campus, it remains gratefully an inconvenience. Momin Khan, another earlier student, mentions his experience, who comes past steam every day on the way to class.

“It somehow smells of metal. . . I walk through it or go around it, depending on how bad I feel that day, ”he said. As for myself, I am forcing me to circle the “precautionary volume” stain, which blocks the way to circle Duke to the library after class. I always walk around the steam and avoid the unwanted fog that sticks to my glasses.

However, the students are more concerned about the long -term consequences of steam spitting than the short -term inconvenience. The steam has already clouded the red bricks of the Königshall.

“Will the steam violate the environment?” Asks Khan. The steam is not undertaken in the environment, but the excess moisture from the steam can be included in the brick that build our campus. If too much moisture is caught in the bricks, they are more susceptible to crack in winter when the water freezes and exchanges, the National park service.

The college works to stop the steam before causing problems. The steam comes from a network of pipes, which give buildings on the campus hot water and heating.

Robert Bell, Communication Director at Guilford, says: “Some sections just didn't keep as we hoped. In order to push all this steam through this pipes, it requires a lot of pressure and stresses an aging system. “

Describing Guilford's steam system as an aging could be an understatement. This system has been working for almost 80 years, which explains the frequent leaks. While the maintenance patched some of the pipes, the network needs a large revision to ensure that it remains functional. The college estimates that the repair of the west side of the network will cost around $ 1 million, including Duke Hall, King Hall and Rachels Cottage.

Guilford wants repairs to the system as little as possible influence the students. Heat and hot water to the Central Campus area were cut for a weekend in March while a steam line was repaired. The hot water over the campus was not available for some time in May when the systems were repaired in Duke and Mary Hobbs.

Temporary corrections have been carried out for months, but the college has not planned a plan to revise the system. The project for capital renewal is on the radar of the college, but a schedule has not been determined when the project begins. Since the college runs with closer budgets, the repairs may have to wait a little longer.

At the moment, the students should not worry too much if they get a touch from time to time or get a touch. The steam can be a distraction from the picturesque environment of the college, but Guilford tries her best to bring back the uninterrupted landscape.