A large city water main on 15th Avenue and Merchant St. broke last Thursday for the second time within three days. Although the pipe belonged to the city, it was on campus ground and affected the university body.

The first break happened late on Jan. 23 and was confronted by city maintenance to resolve the situation.

“They (city maintenance) are up here immediately. We can’t ask for better response from them,” said Mark Runge, director of facilities.

“These are some of the older lines. The first break, they put the saddle on and fixed it. Then, just by bringing the pressure back up into that line, it could have caused the second break,” Runge said.

The second break was patched and is holding together.

The possible dangers of a water break include not having water on campus for an uncertain time, ice in freezing temperatures, and erosion under pavement which can cause sinkholes.

An email was sent out through Hornet Announcements about temporary parking lot and road closures due to possible sinkholes.

Carrie Boettcher, emergency manager for Emporia State University, states that anyone can call facilities on campus if they see anything unusual or needs attention from emergency management.