Fruita Monument High School was seeping with groundwater after pipes broke in the middle of the day. Water flooded in many parts of the school including, the auditorium, multiple classrooms, and the Counseling department.

All after-school activities were canceled on November 28th while plumbers and clean up crews worked diligently to ensure that school would continue on the next day. Crews were cleaning before mold could grow and their quick action resulted in the prevention of a lot of further damage. The building was cleared by the Mesa County Health Department before students entered back into the school however the affected classrooms were closed for about a week while maintenance was being done.

Students were allowed to return to class however, the school shut off the water to the entire west side of the campus. All bathrooms and water fountains west of the gym were closed for a few days and students were required to walk across the school to use the restroom.

“It was pretty hard to have all of the water turned off because the bathrooms that were open were so far away from most of the classrooms. You didn’t have time to use the bathroom during the passing period because they were overcrowded and you would be late to class.” says junior Mati Leckey.

Even though the bathrooms were closed, everyone worked quickly and efficiently to ensure that the flood didn’t affect the students’ ability to learn.

It is unknown what caused the flood and the estimated cost in damage has not been released. However, the District has said that incidents like these are covered by the maintenance budget.