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Since my last communication with you on June 18, many things have moved forward with the remediation of the water damage to our facilities. As such, I wanted to share with you an update on the recovery efforts undertaken to date.

We are still working to restore buildings damaged as a result of the flooding that occurred on June 12. During the cleaning process, we have discovered several additional buildings that were affected by the event. The current list of buildings impacted is as follows:

River Center
Kolf Sports Center
Nursing/Education Building
Clow Classroom Building
Swart Hall
Radford Hall
Taylor Hall
Webster Hall
Donner Hall
Clemans Hall
Arts and Communication Building
Halsey Science Complex
Oviatt House
Dempsey Hall
Polk Library
Reeve Union
Albee Hall
Center for Equity and Diversity
Hazardous Waste Facility
Alumni Stadium

The two flooding remediation contractors, Paul Davis Restoration and ServPro, are still on site and have been making good progress in addressing our needs. At this point, the facilities are nearly dry, and damaged flooring and drywall has been removed. In some instances, dehumidifiers are still running to draw moisture from the air and surfaces. When encountered, mold is being promptly addressed. All work is being supervised and monitored by independent industrial hygienists.

The next phase of the work will involve the replacement of damaged flooring and drywall. Where feasible, carpet and wood flooring will be replaced with more water-resistant materials such as vinyl, rubber or sheet goods, and damaged sections of drywall will be replaced with mold-resistant products. The basements of some buildings should be completed and returned to service in the next two to three weeks.

River Center was the most severely damaged building and will be out of service for several months. The remediation contractor has made steady progress over the past 11 days, but a lot of work remains before that building can become functional. As of today, the water has been pumped out of the basement, and a crew has been at work removing the water-damaged contents of the basement. This phase of the work should be completed within a week and then an assessment of the mechanical and electrical equipment will be performed by engineers.

If you are aware of other water-damage or flooding issues that haven’t been addressed, I encourage you to contact me at sonnleit@uwosh.edu.

Again, we appreciate the cooperative spirit everyone has shown during this catastrophic event for our campus. We know that many of you have also experienced hardships in your own homes, as the severe weather impacted much of Oshkosh and beyond. We appreciate your patience during the University’s recovery efforts and look forward to a time when we can once again function under normal conditions.

Vice Chancellor Tom Sonnleitner
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh