By Foster Conner
Page Editor
A construction mishap on Amarillo College’s Washington Street Campus led to an unexpected heat wave for students, faculty and staff when a chiller line was accidentally damaged, leaving several buildings without air conditioning.
Director of Physical Plant Jim Baca said that during some ongoing construction on campus, the chiller line that cools the entire campus had a hole drilled into it in the process of trying to make a new water line.
The spot that was drilled was known to potentially cause issues. “We have fiber optics, everything running through that area, so it could have knocked the whole computer system out had they hit that instead,” Baca said. The repair for the damage to the chiller line took longer than intended.
Finding and fixing the repair was no simple task. “It took contractors four days to find the leak in the chiller line.” Baca said. Even after the leak was found, the physical plant needed to order the right size tube and parts to properly repair it.
“Once they found the leak, we then needed to order the ten-inch line which came out of Utah,” Baca said. “Not long after ordering the line, we had the massive windstorm which prevented them from delivering to us.” While waiting for the part to arrive, Amarillo College started its second spring semester welcoming students into buildings that did not have working A/C.
“I think the evening classes were having a harder time due to how they might have heated up over the day,” Michelle Nava, an accounting and business instructor, said. “I do believe the heat might have affected my students because I know how it affected me.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the risk of deadly heat-borne illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke increases with higher temperatures, and recommends keeping the room at a comfortable temperature. For some students, the temperature made them uncomfortable. “I like to keep my spaces at the temperature at 70 degrees,” Luther Estridge, a mass media major, said. The physical plant was eventually able to get the parts they needed in and repair the A/C.
“I appreciate all the patience and understanding that we received from not just students, but faculty and staff as well,” Baca said. “Everyone understood and they appreciated the communication that we had going out, but again, you know, I know it’s not fun and I know it gets uncomfortable in some of those office spaces, especially where the sun beats down on those areas.”
Students can get updates on anything involving the physical plant or construction projects by checking their school emails and following the AC Media pages.
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