Water and air conditioning have returned to Indiana University’s Tulip Tree Apartments after residents were left without it for nearly two days.
The outages were the result of low tank levels throughout the system, Daniel Frank, Bloomington utilities communications manager, wrote in an email to the Indiana Daily Student.
The plant has returned to normal pumping capacity, and some of the tanks in the system are beginning to come back to normal levels, while others are still recovering, IU Housing told residents.
It suggested residents maintain their current water-use habits and try to conserve where possible.
IU Housing told residents Sunday that the water outage caused “related air conditioning impacts” at Tulip Tree.
An employee at Tulip Tree’s front desk declined to comment Sunday.
Laksh Solanki, a Tulip Tree resident, said the first email he received from IU Housing came more than 12 hours after the outage began.
“I think it’s been really bad,” Solanki said of the university’s communication.
Portable restrooms and handwashing stations were placed outside Tulip Tree. Residents were allowed to use showers and additional restrooms at the Student Recreational Sports Center and Eigenmann Hall.
Bailey Rene Lucas was one such resident. She said she had to walk to the SRSC to use the restroom or shower and could not do laundry in the building.
“I find myself trying to turn on the water to do dishes or brush my teeth,” Lucas said Sunday.
IU was also offering temporary housing for residents who could not remain in their apartments during the outage. Students were told to contact the front desk at Ashton Residence Center to request temporary housing.
Sai Pranav Kolisetty, a Tulip Tree resident, said he spent much of Sunday at a friend’s apartment and did his laundry there.
“Lugging it back was difficult,” Kolisetty said.
