Welcome back students! Coming back to school can be both exciting and dreadful, including everything from new classes, catching up with old friends, joining clubs, and… sewage? Within our second day back at HHS, the odor escaping from the theatre quickly became apparent to anyone who walked by. Thanks to our maintenance team, the scent was taken care of.
According to Helena School District Facilities Director Todd Verrill, a sewer line ruptured on September 1, causing a sewage backup. A plumber within our district attempted to clear it with a line snake but was unsuccessful. By September 5, a private contractor (AA Plumbing) came to Helena High and began the excavation process. After some work, the contractor determined that the rupture was beneath Room 60 (the piano room) and concluded there was gravel in the line.
On September 19, the issue was officially fixed. Mr. Verrill wrote in email that the “Contractor cut the concrete floor and excavated down 5.5 feet to the sewer line and exposed the collapsed line at an elbow. . . . They repaired the break, filled the hole, and placed concrete back in the floor.”
“We still don’t know why the sewer line broke,” he said, but noted that the science wing has had foundation problems since it was built in 1997. “We have addressed numerous issues over the years, and unfortunately, there is no permanent fix. We can only fix issues as they arise.”
The rupture caused sewage to back up into the back of the theatre. As for how the situation impacted students, our new theatre teacher, Mr. Scruggs, remained optimistic, stating: “It does affect the classroom and theatre, as water has come into the backstage area, but it’s not all negative. This has limited what we would normally do in Technical Theatre and also had us have to use an alternative space at times, but it also allows us to clean out spaces.”
He went on to describe that when issues like this arise, it can develop skills in students that day-to-day school life may not offer. “I believe students can learn how to adapt and change – this is always a good thing . . . we will experience roadblocks in all aspects of life.”
Unfortunately, although the problem became apparent in our Little Theatre first, it was rooted from a pipe below the lower science hall. This meant the effects reached many parts of the school, closing off restrooms and preventing classrooms in the science wing from using sinks—which are essential to conducting labs.
Mrs. Kohoutek, the head of the choir program, was also impacted by the sewage problem since she teaches two piano classes in a classroom within the lower-level science hall. All the pianos and benches had to be moved into a classroom across the hall.
“These infrastructure issues have definitely affected me and the students in my piano classes. It is part of our protocols to wash our hands before starting class and that has not been an option as all water access in the science wing needed to be shut off,” she explained.
When the source of the backup was solved and the line was repaired, it was time to transfer everything back across the hall. Kohoutek explained, “I am so grateful for such amazing students and colleagues . . . With their help, we were able to have a working system by the end of the hour. I could not have dealt with this move on my own.”
Thank you to the district maintenance team and the contractor for fixing the issue and to the teachers and staff who continued to proactively find solutions in their classes during this prolonged issue.
The Nugget will continue to provide updates if any further issues arise.
