A faulty water-pumping system at the SUB that has been acting up for two weeks failed around lunchtime Monday, causing all six restaurants in the building to shut down.
"It's probably the worst thing we've had happen since the opening, which is pretty good considering the scope and size of the project," SUB Director Walt Miller said.
The restaurants closed at 11:45 a.m. and had not reopened as of 7 p.m.
Difficulty diagnosing the malfunction's source and a tight working space in the building's basement could delay the eateries' openings even further.
"Food service for tomorrow is in jeopardy," Harvey Chace, associate director of the Physical Plant Department, said Monday afternoon.
The original diagnosis indicated a mechanism that heats and cools the SUB's water to temperatures suitable for sanitation in the building's kitchens had malfunctioned, prompting University officials to order new parts, Chace said.
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But the parts - an "o-ring" and rubber diaphragm - didn't fit, he said.
"There was some scrambling over the weekend," he said. "The contractor completed the repairs, and they were just about to test it today."
Upon further inspection on Monday, Chace said, officials noticed that the heat exchanger, which converts steam into thermal energy to regulate water temperature, had developed massive calcium deposits on its interior, causing the entire system to fail.
"When you flash heat, the mineral-laden water we have here in Albuquerque tends to calcify rather quickly," he said.
Without a way to ensure that water for the restaurants could meet Health Department standards, UNM shut down the eateries.
Chace said a 50-gallon electric water heater was brought to the SUB as a temporary fix, but he was not sure the device would be completely effective.
Alternate plans to bring food from La Posada Dining Hall to meet the needs of activities in the SUB today are in the works, he said.
Most of the equipment that failed is still under warranty, but UNM is sure to incur some costs, Miller said.
"Things are being changed and added," he said. "But we'll argue about the dollars later. We just want to get the system back up."
