Swimming in sewage
"There was a constant flow of water from the toilet, like a tap flowing with sewage into the room. The room smelt properly like a sewage pit."
A pipe leak at Piccadilly Court Hall left two student's bedrooms swimming in sewage last Saturday. The incident was first reported at approximately 5pm, when a couple of residents on the ground floor noticed an unpleasant smell and realised that their carpets were becoming increasingly waterlogged. The situation rapidly worsened until the untreated sewage water had reached a depth of 1cm, covering the entire floor of the two en-suites, and seeped out into the hall corridor. However, despite the increasingly unsanitary conditions and the obvious health risks, little was done to rectify the crisis initially.
One of the affected students, Mahmoud Usman, told Felix he contacted the warden, Vasa Curcin, as soon as he noticed the leak, but received no response until after 12am. Usman said, "It took from 5:37 to around 2:00am for any expert (i.e. a plumber) to come and during this time we were only in contact with Jasween, who was very helpful". The students hoped they would be moved to vacant rooms or put up in alternate accommodation but were told they would have to sleep in the kitchen or corridors until the rooms could be cleaned.
The wardens contacted the hall manager for Unite, the company that owns the property, who reported the leak at 1.30am and an independent expert was immediately sent out to repair the damaged pipe. Unfortunately, the repair work did not withstand Sunday morning's shower rush and the blocked pipe burst again, worsening the flood:
"The whole room was flooded with dirty water from people showering. In its worst state, there was a constant flow of water from the toilet, like a tap flowing with sewage. The room smelt like a sewage pit. You could even smell it from outside the flat."
A second Unite maintenance team were called out and the problem was finally resolved. Students were then told the area had been sanitised and advised to move back into their rooms. However, according to Usman, the rooms were far from sanitary, "The sewage water was sucked up and apparently `cleaned' but it was still wet due to the socalled cleaning and it still had a bad smell." The unpleasant smell persisted and a large area under the bed had not been drained or cleaned, posing a potentially serious health risk. This issue was taken up with the hall manager and alternative accommodation requested. At first, the students were told they would have to pay for accommodation costs if they refused to stay in halls but after some discussion, a room was found at Wilson House.
Usman is understandably upset by the situation, particularly since he has examinations this coming week and has been unable to properly prepare for them as a result of his nightmarish weekend.
Usman complained that he had to act as a go-between for the Unite personnel and the Accommodation Office, whom he alleges were unaware of the sewage leak until he notified them on Monday morning. He was stunned by the unsympathetic way in which his concerns were handled by some of the staff at Piccadilly Court: "I am very disappointed with Unite and the way they have gone about handling the whole issue. I am disgusted with the way I and others have been treated and misinformed about the situation. I am also very disappointed with Vasa Curcin (the Warden), especially his lack of leadership and concern. The common sense he exhibited during and after the situation left me wondering how the university could entrust him with such a position of responsibility. I feel the only person who deserves any credit is Jasween (the Subwarden) who was very patient and understanding."
Felix contacted Unite and were told that after they were notified of the sewage leak, independent experts were immediately called to the property to rectify the problem. In fact, Unite were initially told a plumber would be unavailable at such an unsociable hour, but they insisted that the crisis needed to be dealt with straight away. It would appear that Unite responded both promptly and effectively, Paddy Jackman, Head of Commercial Services, said they acted in the same way as an Imperial managed halls of residence would under similar circumstances: draining and cleaning the carpets before assessing whether they warranted replacement.
The Accommodation Office has agreed to replace the affected carpets and a health official will be assessing the room at some point this week to confirm that any sanitation risks have been eliminated.
Usman is currently seeking compensation for the significant disruption to his studies.
