A mechanical issue caused air conditioning and hot water failures in Lannon Hall during the first two weeks of the fall semester, leaving many residents without functioning air conditioning and inconsistent cold water supply.

The Office of Facilities Management and the Office of Residence Life sent an email to Lannon residents Aug. 28 explaining that “a major component for Lannon’s HVAC system, the cooling tower, is not operating correctly. As a result, the air conditioning units in some apartments are failing.”

Lannon resident James Kemp ’27 said temperatures in his apartment rose from 68 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit after the air conditioning failed Sept. 1, prompting him and his roommates to purchase fans to mitigate the heat at night.

“It was really bad,” Kemp said. “We would think twice about cooking in the room, because if we turned the oven on, if we did anything with the stove, it would just get hotter in there.”

Kemp and Lannon resident Bryan Balmores-Jumarang ’27 said they also noticed issues with Lannon’s water temperatures.

“A couple of mornings, one of us got into the shower and just no hot water would turn on,” Kemp said. “So [we had] a couple cold showers, and then other times, later at night, there’d be no cold or cool water at all. The dial was turned all the way to the cold side and still [the water would] be very hot.”

Balmores-Jumarang first noticed the lack of cold water Aug. 29, the same day Facilities Management and Residence Life sent an announcement saying they had identified and fixed the problems.

Kemp and his roommates said they submitted a work order through Asset Essentials, the university’s system for requesting assistance from Facilities Management, and received a portable air conditioning unit four days later. In addition to air conditioning failures and the cold water supply problems, some apartments also experienced plumbing issues.

Balmores-Jumarang and his roommates said they noticed the water in their apartment was cloudy a few days after the air conditioning went out.

“Around August 31, we started to notice discolored water in not only the sink, but the toilets as well,” Balmores-Jumarang said. “And, in actuality, there is sediment within the pipes.”

In an Aug. 31 message to Lannon residents, Facilities Management and Residence Life said the sediment was present in Lannon’s pipes “because of the introduction of new water sources into the system” and students should “let their water run for a short time to flush this out.”

Facilities Management and Residence Life sent regular emails to Lannon residents every day between Aug. 27 and Sept. 1 with various updates on the status of repairs.

Facilities Management and Residence Life sent their latest email Sept. 6, outlining their plan for the next week, which includes distributing more portable air conditioning units.

“Priority will be given to students in the warmest areas, and those who have been without service the longest,” the email said. “We are estimating that by September 11, every residence in Lannon will have multiple units; one in each bedroom and one in the living area.”

Devon Kelley ’27 said the portable units are “loud” and said that many students feel frustrated because they are paying more to live in Lannon than the students living in most other sophomore housing. Still, she said she recognizes the university is “trying” to rectify the situation.

The Sept. 6 email also informed Lannon residents that they will have a $200 housing credit posted to their account by Sept. 13 and the university “has already expedited the process of identifying a contractor to replace the main cooling tower in Lannon Hall, ideally over winter break.”

The heating systems in Lannon are not and will not be affected by the cooling tower issues, wrote Ken Ogawa, interim assistant vice president of facilities and administrative services in response to written questions from The Hawk.