BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The water is back on at Buffalo State University. The school announced Monday that hot water has been restored to all campus buildings after nearly three weeks of repairs.
On September 4, the university said the campus' underground steam infrastructure experienced an interruption of steam. Its boilers had to be shut down so repairs could be made, but that means all campus buildings were without hot water for nearly three weeks.
About 655 students were impacted. 7 News spoke with one student who showed us the trailers brought to campus for students to shower in.
"I'm not happy," said senior Janiah Lawrence. "It's not safe. We're on an open campus where people can walk from literally any direction on campus to take a shower. So imagine all the homeless people who walk on campus at night, and we don't even know it."
On Monday, the university posted an update on its website stating that water had been restored to all campus buildings.
"We thank you for your patience and understanding during this repair process, and apologize for the inconvenience caused by this unanticipated interruption," the message to students said.
The message also said it may take time for the hot water flow to reach all showers and faucets, so students were told to allow the hot water to run for 10 minutes. The school also said an additional, shorter shutdown is planned for the coming weeks to fully complete the repair. Impacted students will be notified before that happens.
One issue brought up during an open meeting last week was compensation for the impacted students.
"The fact that we're paying anywhere from $4,000-6,000 and not having hot water is insane," said Kimberly Griffin, a junior.
Interim President Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D., said there will be compensation. According to Buffalo State's website, credit will be issued to impacted student residents based on the amount of time their residence was without hot water. More information on that will be made available once the details have been finalized.
