Some restrooms closed Friday morning to limit damage from a plumbing blockage remain closed as of late Tuesday.
In an email sent to staff shortly after 10 a.m., Principal Eric Juli said that “there is a large leak that needs to be addressed right away,” and that four restrooms were closed: the two in the front hallway on the first floor, adjacent to the main entrance; and the two next to the elevator on the first and second floors.
The Shakerite could only locate three closed restrooms Friday morning: the two near the main entrance, and the restroom next to Room 260. Those next to the elevator on the first and second floors appeared to be open. As of 3:40 p.m. on Friday, the restroom next to Room 260 had been reopened, but the other two remained closed.
During another check at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, The Shakerite located four closed restrooms. The two on the first floor front hallway remain closed. The restroom on the second floor next to Room 260 remains open, but the one next to Room 251 is now closed, along with the all-gender restroom next to the elevator on the second floor.
According to maintenance mechanic Charlie Imm, the issue was not a leak, but a blocked sewage outflow pipe. “The bathrooms feed into the line, that’s the problem. If I take the bathrooms out of the equation, we won’t be making a bigger mess,” Imm said.
The high school has more than one sewage outflow pipe, and maintenance staff said they likely have identified the one that is blocked. Imm said the problem is isolated and contained; only the restrooms that are tied into that pipe had to be closed. The issue will be confirmed and resolved once plumbers can be brought in to send a camera scope down the pipe and clear any blockages.
The same issue has occurred recently, and Imm said he believes the same sewage output pipe is to blame in both cases.
