For weeks, Loyola University has been left in hot water— because they didn’t have any. What started as an equipment failure quickly escalated into a full-scale infrastructure crisis, leaving students with alternative shower options and the facilities team working around the clock to find a solution.
Due to inclement weather, the new temporary boiler that replaced the failed boiler was damaged, and the university was without water until Wednesday night. Efforts had been made by the facilities team to resolve the issue by securing a temporary boiler and finding alternatives for students living on campus.
The problem, which first occurred at the end of February and into Mardi Gras, was the result of a rupture that had occurred in the tubing of one of the two primary boilers, requiring it to be taken offline for repairs.
Kyle Gregore, the director of facilities, gave insight into the efforts of the facilities team to combat the hot water issue.
According to Gregore, an attempt had been made to activate the backup boiler, but a mechanical failure in the motor had led to it catching fire, rendering it inoperable. A specialized replacement part is required for the backup boiler, and will take approximately eight to 10 weeks to arrive. The part has been ordered and was expected to arrive in late April.
The primary boiler experienced a similar tube rupture the previous year, and gaps in preventive water treatment methods had been identified, and modifications to the system were made.
“To enhance preventive maintenance, a proactive assessment of both boilers had been scheduled by the manufacturer for March 9,” Gregore said. “Unfortunately, the primary boiler had failed before that assessment could take place. A full-scale evaluation had been scheduled for April 1 to determine whether repair or full replacement would be the best long-term solution.”
Gregore said the biggest challenge in resolving the hot water outage had been the age of the equipment and the difficulty of acquiring new parts.
“Both boilers had been more than 20 years old, and replacement parts had no longer been commercially available,” Gregore said. “Parts had needed to be custom-manufactured, resulting in long lead times. Additionally, repairing boiler tubes had required highly specialized work, with only two companies in the region capable of performing these repairs.”
Gregore emphasized the logistical delays that occurred when trying to secure and install a temporary rental boiler due to its size, weight, and power requirements.
“The unit had needed to be shipped in multiple pieces from different locations and had required careful placement on campus,” Gregore said.
Gregore said that after the first tube rupture occurred last year, a new water treatment program with a more advanced monitoring system had been implemented to improve maintenance and longevity.
“Loyola’s two-boiler system had been designed for redundancy, with one unit operating while the other had been offline for rest or maintenance,” Gregore said.
The failure had occurred in the network of metal tubes that had carried superheated water across campus.
Gregore said that the repair process had been time-consuming due to the age of the equipment and damage from a recent storm to the temporary boiler.
“Over years of heating and cooling cycles, metal fatigue had developed in these tubes, leading to cracks,” Gregore said. “To repair them, the system needed to be shut down, cooled, and then have the damaged sections cut out and re-welded before being pressurized and brought back online—a process that had taken significant time.”
The assessment of the boilers had been made a key priority in Loyola’s central plant capital project. This ongoing project had included a comprehensive evaluation of critical infrastructure to prevent future disruptions.
When the facilities team tried to activate the backup boiler, a blown fuse had been discovered. Upon replacement, a fire had erupted from the motor, requiring the unit to be shut down immediately.
Due to the boiler’s age, the damaged motor needed to be completely rebuilt, which required custom manufacturing and an estimated time of eight to 10 weeks, according to Gregore.
The permanent boilers operated on a high-temperature hot water system, a closed-loop system of superheated water.
Gregore said due to the university’s extensive hot water needs, the only available rental unit capable of meeting demand was a steam boiler, which replaced the failed boiler. While different in operation, it had provided the same level of efficiency, and students had not experienced any noticeable difference in function.
A multi-pronged approach had been taken by Loyola to improve campus infrastructure.
A full assessment of all mechanical systems, including boilers, across both the main and Broadway campuses is underway to determine repair and replacement priorities, costs, and potential energy efficiency upgrades, according to Gregore, along with consultations with the original mechanical engineer who had designed the campus’ existing boiler system to evaluate modern replacement options.
A new asset management program has been implemented to transition from a reactive maintenance model to a proactive, lifecycle-based approach. This program is expected to be fully operational by summer, according to Gregore.
Three alternative facilities—Xavier University, Tulane University, and portable shower units at Loyola—have been available for hot shower access for students in the dorms without hot water. Since the beginning of the outage, shuttle transportation has been provided by Loyola to the Xavier auditorium for access to showers in several locker rooms.
Shuttles departed from Loyola’s campus every 30 minutes throughout the day. Additionally, Tulane’s Reily Student Recreation Center showers had been made available to Loyola students from the onset. If transportation assistance is required, the Loyola University Police Department provides on-demand shuttle service.
“When it had been learned that the boiler had sustained additional damage as a result of the weekend’s inclement weather, further action had been taken,” Gregore said. “Portable shower units had been placed behind Budding Hall for residential students on March 16. These facilities had been fully accessible and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant.”
According to Gregore, Loyola had already been aware that aging infrastructure required attention, but the incident demonstrated how rapidly wear and system vulnerabilities could escalate.
Efforts have been accelerated by the facilities team to assess every critical system on campus, prioritize upgrades, and prevent future disruptions.
“Loyola had already employed a two-boiler redundancy system, as well as multiple backup systems for chillers and pumps,” Gregore said. “However, the incident had been an unprecedented scenario in which both boilers had failed within hours of each other.”
The January freeze and snow, which had necessitated running both units at maximum capacity for an extended period, likely contributed to accelerated wear, according to Gregore.
Options were under review to strengthen backup heating capabilities to better withstand extreme weather events.
Gregore acknowledged the frustration on campus and reassured students that efforts had been made by the facilities team to fix the issue while taking steps to ensure a more resilient and modernized infrastructure.
“We had understood how incredibly frustrating the situation had been and deeply regretted the disruption it had caused,” Gregore said. “Reliable access to hot water had been essential, and it had been recognized that the delays in restoring service had fallen short of expectations. Please know that efforts had been made tirelessly by the facilities team and university leadership to address the issue as quickly and effectively as possible.”
