KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Over 30 buildings on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus, including Neyland Stadium and several dormitories, were damaged by broken water lines caused by frigid winter weather that swept through the region just in time for Christmas.
A spokesperson for the university said that crews worked in 12-hour shifts to cover the campus 24/7 during the Christmas weekend and the following holiday week. These crews walked buildings to identify broken water lines before they became catastrophic flooding events, and even with the proactive measures, dozens of leaks still resulted in damage to multiple university buildings.
The damage to the following buildings was described as ‘major’:
• Dougherty Engineering Building
• Nielsen Physics Building
• Hesler Biology Building and Greenhouse
• Walters Academic Building
• Greve Hall
• Carrick Hall North
• Carrick Hall South
• Student Recreational and Fitness Center
• Delta Zeta Sorority
• Alpha Chi Omega Sorority
• UT Institute for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
• Blackburn-Furrow Golf Facility
Damages to a life Sciences workspace. (University of Tennessee) 
The floor in the Tennessee Recreation Center for Students. (University of Tennessee) 
(University of Tennessee) 
Damage to an office in the Golf Facility. (University of Tennessee) 
A tile fell from the ceiling onto a table in the Golf Facility. (University of Tennessee) 
The Delta Zeta Sorority house had water standing in multiple rooms. (University of Tennessee) 
Water standing in a Delta Zeta Sorority house room. (University of Tennessee) 
Water standing in the Alpha Chi Omega building. (University of Tennessee) 
Water in the Dougherty Engineering building. (University of Tennessee) 
Water stnading in the hallway of the Walter’s Life Sciences building. 
Work areas in the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing surrounded by pools of water. (University of Tennessee) 
Fallen ceiling tiles in the Walters Life Sciences building. (University of Tennessee)
Pictures of the heavily damaged areas show standing water and fallen ceiling tiles. Repairs have been made to 15 buildings so far. Another 10 building are listed with minor damage, including Neyland Stadium, Lindsey Nelson Stadium and the new Student Union.
In images of the damage at the stadium, ice can be seen on a pipe, water standing in multiple areas, and two coolers appear to have been knocked over.
“As you prepare to return to campus this week, we would ask that you visit the website and review the information provided. Upon your return, if you identify additional offices, labs, or areas that are damaged but are not identified on the website, we would ask that you provide that information via your building’s facilities liaison. We are working closely with Belfor on the cleanup and restoration to ensure the facilities can be safely occupied. If you believe that an area is not safe, please contact Facilities Services One Call at (865) 946-7777.”
Kerry Gardner, University of Tennessee News and Information
A map showing all of the damaged areas can be found through the University of Tennessee here.
