Burst pipes damage LTCC’s student center

By Kathryn Reed

Lake Tahoe Community College’s student center remains closed this week and culinary classes are being taught at South Tahoe High School while damage to the area is fixed.

A maintenance worker on New Year’s Eve noticed ice and water on the floor in the culinary area from ruptured pipes.

Pipes are exposed in the kitchen area of LTCC. Photo/Kathryn Reed

When the power went out in the Al Tahoe area of South Lake Tahoe during the holidays it was also out at the college. The main hot water circulation pump was cut off at this time.

“The air handling unit remained in service so it brought really cold air into the building,” explained Christina Proctor, spokeswoman for the college.

She said no structural damage occurred.

“There may be more problems as we troubleshoot and try to correct the problems,” Proctor said. The cost to repair the damage has not been determined. It will be covered by insurance, Proctor said.

Classes for winter quarter started as normal on Jan. 3, though the food courses moved to the high school. They are expected to be back at LTCC next week.

The coffee cart is temporarily in front of the bookstore.

LTCC has a back up generator for emergency lights, but it does not have enough juice to keep things functioning for an extended period of time. The college had been closed for two weeks for the holidays when the pipes burst.

The lack of power also meant the servers that handle online registration were out of service.