More trenches on campus
repairing a leak in the district hot water system at the foot of the Reconciliation Pole
Trenches and other holes in the ground are a ubiquitous feature of UBC’s landscape. Rare is the morning that a campus walker won’t stumble across the beep-beep-beep sounds of a backhoe being unloaded. Paving tiles on pallets, hazard yellow jacketed work crews standing in circles beside shovels and heavy equipment are as much a part of UBC as is chalk dust and powerpoint.
The current trench (two actually) can be found on Main Mall under the Reconciliation Pole. This is for a planned valve replacement. The accompanying trench is over on Agronomy Road, just east of the intersection with Main Mall. This is a leak repair.
I asked UBC what was going on and John Metras sent the following email:
“We’re repairing a leak in the district energy system hot water pipe. The system has an effective leak detection system, which made it straightforward to locate this leak and make the repair. That said, we have had very few leaks in system.”
“The leak repair is actually on Agronomy Rd near the main entrance to the Forest Science Centre. The photo that you sent [at the Reconciliation Pole] is of a planned valve replacement about 75m from the leak location. We took advantage of having the contractor on site for the leak repair to also do the valve replacement.”
Note: updated 8:45 June 23, 2023 to clarify where the leak repair and valve replacement is occurring.
A Campus Resident was created to fill the gap left in community news by the suspension of publication of the UNA’s The Campus Resident. The UNA is planing to bring back a digital version of The Campus Resident sometime this coming fall. In anticipation of the UNA”s revitalized publication I will be ramping down the frequency of publication of A Campus Resident.
I will continue publishing occasional stories (I have a couple in preparation right now). I am also working on a bigger project that will draw from the stories published since June 2022 when A Campus Resident first published. More on that project later. In the meantime, please feel free to continue to send in story ideas and I will continue to share news on campus (though at a less frequent rate).
Well done on the photography! Can't help but see symbolism in the shot with the heavy equipment next to the pole!