At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, a pipe burst in the front vestibule of Place Riel, leaving water pouring down for at least an hour.

University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union General Manager Caroline Cottrell said she received the call notifying her of the incident around 7:40 p.m. and suspects that the pipe had burst not long before then.

The water flowed across the main entrance of Place Riel into the Roy Romano Council Chambers, the USSU Main Office, the Food Centre and into Student Care. Continuing down the stairs, the water made its way around to Umi Sushi Express as well as into the Campus Computer Store. With water pouring from their ceilings, the set of women’s washrooms by Macs’ and the Campus Dentist office were both heavily affected and will be closed today.

As a result of the pipe burst, many areas of Place Riel will need to receive clearance from U of S electricians before resuming operations. Cottrell said that the front doors of Place Riel will remain closed until later today and that the Information Centre opened an hour late, at 9:30 a.m.

Potential damage to certain equipment in the dentist office as well as stock in the Campus Computer Store are still being investigated.

Saskatoon Disaster Services and the Facilities Management Division were on site to assist with controlling the water, mitigating damage and cleaning up.

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Video: Erika Lanzer