Saturday, March 15, 2014

Typical spring puddles or a bigger problem?, by Stella Nathan


The University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse has a problem with standing water blocking the pathways outside.

Puddles are one thing, but these areas of standing water are more troublesome. During a hall council meeting, one disgruntled student described the puddles as “lake road blocks soaking their feet.” Large bodies of water are all over campus as well as off campus by the curbs and in the middle of walkways. Sometimes there are ways to get around the puddles but that requires students to try and go single file through the shallow parts of the puddle. 

Students also try walking along the side in the grass but that has melted ice and is slippery. Some students are even avoiding certain areas and taking different routes to class so they don’t have to wade through the water.

The problem doesn’t seem to be getting fixed. A city worker can push the water from the puddles into a sewer, but there are more puddles showing up that are wider and deeper. Near the student health center and in the middle of the pathway far right of Drake Field are just some of the places these puddles won’t drain.