by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
About 500 people evacuated Zimmerman Library on Wednesday after a water pipe burst, flooding the basement.
The library had to be cleared, and the power was shut off while clean-up crews drained the water, said Joel Straquadine, facilities maintenance manager of Physical Plant.
The library will reopen sometime today unless the damage is more severe than expected, said Mary Vosevich, director of Physical Plant.
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After the water is drained, workers will check to see if electric lines were affected by the water, Straquadine said.
"As soon as I am assured I have no electric lines under water, I'll turn it back on," he said.
Some areas of the basement were covered by as much as six inches of water, Vosevich said.
Straquadine said crews would work through Wednesday night to remove the water and examine the damage.
Some books were stored in the basement, but few were affected, said Martha Bedard, dean of University Libraries.
The shelves were above the waterline, but some books had water splashed on them, Bedard said.
"The good news is this happened in the middle of the day," she said. "It was caught right away."
Bedard said wet books would be freeze-dried, so they wouldn't be ruined.
The books were mostly government publications, she said.
The flood happened because a pipe connector, called a flange, failed, said Rick Henrard, project manager for the basement renovation.
"We don't know why the flange gave at this point," he said.
The flooding started at about 2:30 p.m., and the library was evacuated shortly after, Vosevich said.
Students were escorted back into the library if they had left anything behind, UNM spokeswoman Susan McKinsey said.
Straquadine said three crews came with eight pumps to remove the water. It would take four hours to pump out the water and another 12 to vacuum what remained, he said.
The basement was closed for renovation after a fire in 2006.
It was scheduled to reopen in January, but it's unknown how long the flood will delay the reopening, Henrard said.
"We're optimistic," he said. "We hope that the damage is minimal."
Henrard said the renovation was nearly complete before the flood.
"It's demoralizing, basically, to see what we've accomplished and see this happen," he said. "It was pretty much done."
New carpet, tile, drywall and bookshelves were installed, Henrard said.
Workers were in the final stage of construction, which included touch-ups and patchwork, he said.
Student Andrew Pluchinotta missed his appointment at CAPS on Wednesday because of the closure.
"It sucks because I have a big test tomorrow," he said. "I'm going to study as hard as I can tonight and hope I pass."
Professor Michelle Kells's class was scheduled to meet at CAPS, but she waited outside the library Wednesday to tell students to meet in her office.
"It seriously affected my class," she said. "It'll set back our schedule."
