If you frequent Jo’s coffee shop on campus, you may have noticed a large pile of dirt surrounded by St. Edward’s Police Department barriers beside the shop’s side entrance.

The barriers prevent entry to Jo’s from the side of the building, making the Ragsdale Center entrance the main point of entry and exit for the coffee shop, causing more crowding in Jo’s than usual.

The pile of dirt is the result of a leak. On April 3, facilities staff discovered that hot water was leaking from the system that provides heat to Ragsdale and to the bookstore, according to Facilities Assistant Director Brian Clark Burns.

“With the aid of a recent thermal image of the area, we were able to establish that the water was escaping from the system beneath the pavers of the fire-lane between Jo’s coffee shop and the Fondren courtyard,” Burns said.

The pile of dirt is the result of pavers being removed in order to unearth the hot water pipe. The pipe leaked as a result of a section that had corroded due to lack of proper insulation.

The pipe will be exposed, removed and replaced by a contractor, but there is no set date for the repair.

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