On Wednesday, May 31, custodians discovered a water leak at the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
Custodians found the leak around 8 p.m., identifying a humidifier on the roof as the cause. Campus plumbers stopped the leak about 30 minutes after its discovery, UO officials say. According to Kristin Strommer, communications manager for the museum, there was no real damage to any of the items in the exhibits–the main damage is moisture in the walls and ceiling.
Strommer praised the custodians quick response and the system in place as reasons a disaster was avoided.
When the custodians discovered the leak they notified administrators immediately and worked to try and ensure that no artifacts or exhibits were damaged, according to Around the O.
UO says that potentially hundreds of gallons of water leaked into the museum and about 150 feet of walling and 400 feet of ceiling drywall were damaged. The museum remains open during repairs, but the Explore Oregon exhibit where the leak occurred has been closed since Thursday. The exhibit was estimated to reopen this Wednesday but is now expected sometime after this weekend, according to Strommer.
Kelly McIver, public information officer for UOPD said there are no estimates for the repair, material or labor costs.
So far there has been about $7,000 spent on drying out the areas of the exhibit that were damaged by water. McIver did not have an accurate estimate on how much the damage would cost, but said, “Based on the professional best guess” it would be no more than $20,000.
Mciver added, “You can never say never with this stuff because that is the whole thing, until you have gotten all of the estimates in and until you have had everything looked at and dealt with you don’t know for sure.”