A series of plumbing issues have caused disruptions, including relocation and restricted laundry access, in Wellesley residence halls in the past weeks. 

Soph Petito ‘26 said that her Claflin Hall basement suite, which flooded shortly after Labor Day following an apparent plumbing issue.

“The shower was full of what looked like sewage, and we weren’t sure what to do. Immediately after that our toilet pipe exploded, and water was gushing out onto the bathroom floor, to our lounge area, and one of my roommates’ rooms. Water was leaking through the walls,” said Petito. 

On Wednesday, another pipe burst, flooding their common room and at least one bedroom. Petito and her roommates had to swiftly relocate from Claflin to Munger because of urgent construction on the pipe.

“During our packing time they had already started construction, ripping off the base walls in the entire suite and later drilling a hole into our living room where the pipe is supposed to be,” she said.

A sewage leak also impacted East Side residents. On Sunday, Sept. 15, the Community Director, DeAnna Bryfogle, sent an email update to notify residents that a sewage leak and facilities work in the Bates, Freeman, McAfee, and Hemlock communities impacted access to laundry and elevators. 

The basement laundry rooms in all three residential buildings and elevators in Bates and Freeman were “offline” until the next day, according to the email. 

The elevator and laundry machine outage did not manage to be resolved for three days. Pauline Paranikas ‘25 described a foul smell “like an aquarium”, especially near the entrance to Freeman and the Bates Dining Hall during this time.

Maintenance responded to the issue the same day the email was sent, and as of Wednesday September 18, all East Side facilities had been restored to working order. The impacted Claflin residents will continue to reside in Munger until restoration of their rooms is complete.

Contact the editors responsible for this story: Sazma Sarwar