When the water turned off this week, the VCU response team turned on

By Joan Tupponce

As soon as water stopped flowing through the pipes on campus this week, Virginia Commonwealth University implemented a rapid-response plan that addressed immediate needs - and that looked ahead to the start of a new semester next week.

This past Monday, a winter storm caused a power outage that disrupted the city of Richmond's water reservoir system, which serves VCU and large parts of the metro region.

"Water has a fairly significant impact to the campus," said Bev Beaver, director of facilities services in VCU Facilities Management. "When the water first went down, we went through and shut off various mechanical systems. The outage also impacted the fire suppression systems" - and VCU officials have been conducting round-the-clock fire watches at any facilities that have been occupied.

In addition to securing infrastructure, emergency response officials focused equally on the human side of the crisis: A collaborative effort quickly began serving the roughly 550 students on campus this week, ahead of the upcoming influx.

"We have been working with our campus partners in facilities services, dining and Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success," said Gavin Roark, executive director of VCU Residential Life and Housing. "We have been focusing on getting water to those students and also telling them where they can pick up drinking bottles of water."

Jahmar Wyant knocks on the door of an apartment in the West Grace South as he and resident advisors Ava Craft (center) and Jonathan Mejias conduct a door-to-door check on whether water is turned on or off for utilities, sinks, toilets and showers and tubs. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU Emergency Management, in collaboration with Business Services, acquired and distributed 31 pallets of water to students and employees on campus.

And as the city continues its water restoration efforts leading into this weekend, the spring semester move-in date for newly assigned and first-year students has been pushed back from this Friday to noon Sunday (Jan. 12). Upperclass residents who had not yet returned to campus were also encouraged to delay their arrival until Jan. 12.

"As we have all been meeting and monitoring the current crisis impacting our city and VCU, words cannot capture the depth of my feelings of gratitude for our dedicated VCU teams - thousands of people caring for other people - for their extraordinary efforts during this challenging time," said President Michael Rao, Ph.D. "The compassion, resilience and unwavering commitment of our people for our students', patients' and care providers' well-being exemplifies the very best of who we are as a community."

Though service had been restored to most VCU facilities on Thursday this week, safety testing needs to be completed before the water is deemed safe to drink. (Visit rva.gov for resources and information, including conservation and boil-water advisories.) VCU is systematically going through all facilities to bring them back online as quickly as possible

"It's a mad dash. We are ensuring all building infrastructure related to the plumbing and mechanical systems on campus are working properly," Beaver said. "Once the incoming water systems are flushed, we have to refill the building distribution and check all of the individual systems and devices in each building to verify everything is operational."

Matt Galyen delivers bottled water to VCU's Cary and Belvidere Residence Center. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

The VCU Police Department is adding traffic control personnel on Sunday to ensure safety for pedestrians and drivers, and an additional 60 pallets of water will support the move-in. Starting that day, on-campus students will have access to a central water location at Shafer Court Dining Center, with pickup starting at noon.

"We are working with our partners in Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success to have them send out automated phone calls to all on-campus students to look for updates from Residential Life and Housing," said Roark, who praised the collaborative spirit that has powered the water response.

"This whole effort has been a campus partner approach to supporting everyone across campus," he said. "That's what makes VCU so special and unique."

VCU itself has been a partner to the broader community as well. VCU Police and its Emergency Management team have been assisting the ongoing water restoration efforts, with representatives working at the city's operations center 24/7 since it opened on Monday.

Robert Michael checks the water flow of a sink in an apartment at the Broad and Belvidere Residence Center. He also checked to make sure the hot water was working. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

There have been odd sights, too. During the Rams basketball game Wednesday night at the Siegel Center, VCU Police worked with city fire marshal to conduct constant fire watches - allowing the game to be played without fans.

"Our police officers and public safety professionals know they are essential to the continued operation of VCU and VCU Health, no matter the circumstances," said John Venuti, associate vice president for public safety at VCU and VCU Health and chief of police. "This team has been grinding to ensure our community is safe and healthy - during both the winter storm and water restoration efforts by the city of Richmond."

With a new semester approaching, Rao noted that the emergency response effort reflects service to the entire VCU community - many of whom could arrive this weekend to a much-improved situation: "Join me in thanking every member of our team for their tireless dedication and hard work on behalf of all of us."

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