Due to a water main break this past weekend, Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road were flooded. Case Western Reserve University’s Rave Alert system issued a message at 2:48 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 30, stating that Mayfield Road was closed “from Murray Hill to E. 125th; Cornell closed from Euclid to Courtyard [Marriot] parking lot.”
As a result of the water break, students making their way home from the Case Quad found themselves in cold water. One student described receiving the notification, but underestimated the condition of the street until they saw it with their own eyes.
“I saw the notice from Public Safety, but didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until I was walking down Euclid that I understood the severity of the situation,” they said. “I had to wade through the large pools of water collecting in front of the UH driveway, and my shoes and socks got all soaked.”
This water rushed down the intersection of Cornell Road and Euclid Avenue, some pooling in front of University Hospitals with snow buildup. When asked if the operations of the hospital were affected by the main break, a hospital spokesperson said: “No – patient care wasn’t affected.”
By Friday evening, drilling machinery was seen at the intersection of Cornell Road and Euclid Avenue, blocked off from the public by “road closed” signage and cones. The Cleveland Water Department was on the scene to deal with the incident.
Although an inconvenience for quite a few students, many did not have to deal with the ills of Euclid Avenue. Some students were unaffected by the water break, having either been off campus at its peak or taken an alternative route to return home.
On Saturday, vehicles were rerouted as Euclid Avenue was closed from Mayfield Road to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive due to the icy water. Sidewalks also froze over, and CWRU administration encouraged the community to avoid the area in another Rave alert message.
To accommodate for the flooding, the CWRU shuttle routes were altered during the time of the water leak. On Friday, the BlueLink and GreenLink were rerouted until Saturday afternoon and evening, respectively. This past Monday, the Commuter and HEC routes were closed until 2 p.m. due to ice from the break.
A CWRU student described an incident with a Safe Ride on Friday following the initial flooding.
“We ended up spending around 20 minutes in a Safe Ride … circling around a bunch, because they had to pick up other students, but we couldn’t go directly to NRV, so it was just a really long and tedious ride.”
The recent influx of cold weather in Ohio has caused a series of main breaks, including in the cities of Willoughby, Columbus and Youngstown.
In response to another water break in Brunswick, Ohio, Cleveland Water spokesperson Danielle Miklos said, “Outside of winter, Cleveland Water averages 3 to 5 breaks a day … During the winter months, that average increases to 5 to 7 breaks daily and even more during extreme cold spells. This increase is normal for water systems similar in age and climate to Cleveland Water’s.”