Extensive flood damage reported as UW-Superior reopens

Virtually all of the buildings at UW-Superior were damaged by flood waters from record rainfall Wednesday. Some buildings have been re-opened and classes are being held, but other buildings have restricted access.

The UW-Superior campus had water damage in 14 of its 16 buildings. The Jim Dan Hill Library’s basement is down to three feet of water. That’s an improvement over yesterday’s 10-foot depths, which caused a lake of floating books. Workers from commercial catastrophic disaster recovery company BMS Cat have been using large pumps and fans to dry up the buildings. UWS spokeswoman Lynne Williams says BMS Cat provides relief. “While that was happening we were putting out our plans,” she says. “Our priority plans figuring out what we had to do, moving people, moving classes and events and things. That is what we were doing yesterday while we were waiting for the water to stop. BMS was here on campus helping us with all of that and going through the buildings assessing the damage.”

Buildings like historic Old Main are closed because there is standing water in some spots. A pool of water sits in front of a basement door that has a sign reading Danger High Voltage. Williams says safety is important in times like this. “Any students living on campus this summer are safe and secure and can stay in their locations,” she says. “That was one of the first things that we did was prioritizing the safety of the residence hall and the safety of the students first.”

Water in the library was being pumped out with an 8-inch diameter hose. BMS Cat says saving books is possible by freeze drying them.