Bethel University, like others in the Twin Cities area, faced some heavy rainfall this summer. Meteorologist Paul Douglas stated “2016 is on track to be one of the wettest years on record for much of Minnesota.”  Bethel clearly felt the effects of some of these intense rainfalls this past summer.

During the big storm on July 5th, Kristen Soderman, the Theatre Production Manager at Bethel, was notified about water coming out of the theatre toilet. “He asked me if I wanted to see something interesting.” Well what they found was interesting – a toilet overflowing very fast, spilling into the dressing room and Clauson Center (CC) basement hallway.

Building services quickly responded. Flooded areas were quickly extracted and dried out with fans. Carpets were cleaned and treated. Hard floor surfaces were disinfected and mopped.

Facilities Management had been aware of areas that needed improvement to handle such storms. This summer, projects were scheduled and completed to address them. The Maintenance team restructured some of the plumbing through CC1 to handle heavier rainfall. There was also roofing work on the Benson Great Hall (BGH) and Community Life Center (CLC) correcting issues identified there, says Building Services. They are also excited to note that these areas have not experienced any flooding during the September rains.

It is also important to note the flooding that occurred in the academic buildings was not systemic with issues being addressed with culvert system in front of the BGH.

Furthermore, Facilities Management continues to work to provide excellent care for Bethel facilities to ensure an excellent environment for our Bethel community.