The Marconi campus of the Nova Scotia Community College is closed after someone allegedly vandalized the entrance to the water tower that supplies water to the campus.
The college said Wednesday morning that it was closed due to a “water issue.” It later sent an email to staff and students, saying that the compound to the water tower had been vandalized sometime overnight Tuesday or early Wednesday morning, and the college would remain closed Thursday.
“That's the frustrating piece,” says campus principal Fred Tilley, “is that we have to halt production and halt classes this close to the end of an academic year in order to make sure things are safe.”
Campus security noticed damage to the locks on the gate. The college has reported the incident to Cape Breton Regional Police and Nova Scotia Environment. The office of Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer has also been notified.
NSCC didn’t provide any details about the vandalism, but students and staff are being asked not to drink the water as a precaution, until further testing is conducted.
The campus will open Friday, but a no-consumption order will be in place, and there will be no food service.
“Basically as part of (Wednesday) we spent our day testing the water. We sent it away and it will be a couple of days, so we don't expect this to be a long process, so we will work on other things until we are able to utilize the water for consumption again,” says Tilley.
A no-consumption order is also in place at Cape Breton University, which is located next to the Marconi campus. The university says all food services on campus are closed and bottled water has been made available to students who live in residence. Students in Harriss Hall were served a continental breakfast Thursday morning.
“It's an incredibly stupid thing to do, I would say,” says CBU student Dog Richards.
“I feel like it's very inappropriate and stressful. There's better things to be doing with your time,” says CBU student Sarah Cooper.
Police are investigating the incident.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
