Ferris State kicked off 2025 with two major plumbing issues on campus, including a water main break outside North Bond Hall and a pipe bursting in FLITE in mid-January.
Plumbing issues have prevailed across campus over the last several years, raising questions about the underlying infrastructure that supports Ferris.
A major flood in Brophy/McNerney Hall occurred in November 2024 due to a pipe bursting in the building. The Brophy/McNerney flood resulted in 11 students moving into temporary housing, and several other students affected by the flood.
The pipe burst in FLITE resulted in the library being closed as part of the emergency procedure to make repairs.
Each of these plumbing incidents resulted in major inconveniences for students. The water main break outside of North Bond Hall resulted in concerns for several students in the dental hygiene programs, as well as class issues for students in the pharmacy school.
In January, Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications Dave Murray stated that the pipe bursting in Brophy Hall affected nearly 40 students and resulted in intense cleanup efforts by Housing and Residence Life team members.
“A pipe burst on the terrace level of Brophy/McNerney Hall in November, creating flooding issues for 40 students,” Murray said. “This is very unfortunate and not the residential experience we hope to provide. Such issues are rare and impossible to predict. The Housing and Residence Life team does strongly encourage students to purchase renter’s insurance for personal property.”
Murray further stated that the likely cause of the pipe burst in Brophy Hall is due to the age of the building, despite regular inspections for potential problems.
Murray was unavailable for an updated interview for this edition.
Ferris has not been a stranger to infrastructure problems. Over the last several years, the university has been plagued with various plumbing issues.
In 2024, Travis Hall’s basement flooded with sewage in December, FLITE experienced a flood from a water line break in January, and in October 2023, Cramer Hall had a flood caused by a faulty furnace pipe.
The university acknowledged the neglect of renovations and updates in Sept. 2024, during this year’s Founder’s Day address. University President Dr. Bill Pink presented information regarding on-campus housing’s lack of renovations and maintenance.
Pink’s presentation showed that only three dorms on campus have been renovated in the last 20 years.
In university documents, which the Torch received via the Freedom of Information Act, few plumbing repairs were outlined within the last eight fiscal years.
The plumbing repairs notated in this document were bathroom water conservation, waterproofing, toilet replacements and shower pan recaulking.
The documents provided via the Freedom of Information Act did not notate specific plumbing upgrades or replacements made to housing buildings on campus.
The documentation further explained various other upgrades to housing buildings on campus, including main lobby upgrades, front desk updates, smoke detector replacements, flooring replacements, office furniture expenses, various paint updates and an e-sports renovation.
Also included in the FOIA documents was a $31,500 purchase of flooring for West Campus Apartments, labeled as “flooring purchase to have on hand.”
This expense was notated under fiscal year 2023, the same year that Cramer Hall experienced the flood due to the furnace pipe malfunction.
Within the FOIA documents, several renovations are listed, however, details as to what exactly the renovations included were not mentioned within the documentation.
Chemistry education junior Brayden Steenwyk was previously a residential advisor in Brophy Hall and was present when the flooding incident occurred.
“I woke up and heard my residents screaming and splashing as they’re running down the hall,” Steenwyk said. “We never really got an explanation; it was just that a pipe burst.”
Steenwyk recalled that residents in the building were attempting to put towels under their doors to stop the water from flowing in.
As an RA, it was Steenwyk’s responsibility to go around the dorm and unplug electronics to avoid electrocution concerns, as well as try to save residents’ belongings that were ruined by the water.
Steenwyk stated that the incident occurred on a weekend, and several residents were not present when the flood occurred. While those affected were transferred to Merrill Travis while cleanup was done, several residents experienced significant loss due to the flooding.
“My issue was their handling of dealing with the people who had loss,” Steenwyk said. “It was kind of just, ‘Hey, you could have got flood insurance.’ But ask any freshman if they know about needing flood insurance, and I guarantee you the answer would be zero. It’s kind of a shame on housing.”
The FOIA documentation also included a four-phase capital renewal deferred maintenance plan, in which the university allotted funds in various fiscal years for facilities projects.
For fiscal year 2018, it was noted that facilities received $3,500,000 over five years, dedicated towards various facilities maintenance projects.
Work included in these projects included items such as utility infrastructure, low-load steam boiler, energy conservation, electrical, elevators, exterior enclosures, HVACR, interior finishes, plumbing and roofing.
Despite these allotted funds, major plumbing renovations were not notated in the documents for fiscal years 2018 through 2023.
Welding engineering technology sophomore Caleb Egnor explained that he experienced several issues with plumbing in Brophy Hall.
“I have parts of pipes that lead into the toilet that leak when I flush,” Egnor said. “It’s constant issues with having to plunge the drains. It just feels like they’re outdated, and they don’t fully pay attention to these issues like they should.”
Egnor further stated that while maintenance has remained responsive to reports of issues in the dorm, the response was not timely. He had a rusted-out sink while living in Clark Hall, which took maintenance three days to respond to.
Egnor also expressed disappointment in the state of the showers in the dorms, with the presence of mold presenting a huge concern.
“Safely secured flowing water is a huge necessity,” Egnor said. “Having a pipe leaking not only creates the issue of mold, but also creates a health issue of breathing that in.”
Information on the capital renewal deferred maintenance fund for fiscal year 2024 has not yet been released.