On the evening of Thursday, Feb. 13, Harvey Mudd College’s Makerspace flooded an unprecedented amount in its four-year history, according to Makerspace management. The space was closed over the weekend as it underwent clean-up and repairs, reopening to 5C students on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Harvey Mudd Machine Shop Manager Drew Price, who works closely with Makerspace management, was at the workshop on Feb. 13. According to Price, unusually heavy rain loosened debris that clogged the water drainage ducts in front of the Makerspace. Without necessary drain access, water from the storm began to enter into the building.
“At the worst, there were several inches of water around the entrance and the Makerspace lobby,” Price said in an email to TSL. “I worked with several Makerspace stewards and others to identify and try to unplug the outside drains, and then to make sure no one entered the space or went into areas where the power was still turned on which would have posed a safety risk.”
HMC’s Office of Facilities and Management, The Claremont College Services Facilities Services and Campus Safety handled recuperation efforts throughout the night and into the weekend. They thoroughly cleaned and dried the space, namely the rainwater-saturated lobby carpet, furniture, rock garden and work areas. It was only after this long process that the Makerspace was able to confirm that no further hazards existed and to resume operations.
To help prevent future floods, Makerspace Manager Kim Neal said that management plans to lay sandbags outside of the building, although this is just a short-term solution; a long-term plan has yet to be made.
“A lot of people are included in that conversation and it will take some time to develop,” Neal wrote in an email to TSL.
The Makerspace’s closure did not go unnoticed, according to students at the 5Cs. During those four days, Makerspace stewards were unable to work, students could not use workshop resources for projects and clubs typically held in the building weren’t able to meet.
Joaquin Gonzalez-Salgado HMC ’28, a recent addition to the Makerspace steward team, said that some of his peers ended up losing their academic work during the flood.
“Someone in the Makerspace Discord was saying that they were doing a project for their engineering clinic, like a senior capstone project, and it was in process in the 3D printer, and because of the flood, they had to unplug everything,” Gonzalez-Salgado said.
While the Makerspace is now back up and running, Gonzalez-Salgado said that there are still elements awaiting reconstruction. He said that some of the floor outlets and equipment in the 3D print room are out of commission.
“You wouldn’t really see that at first glance,” he said.
Gonzalez-Salgado added that the temporary loss of the Makerspace reminded him of its essentiality to the consortium.
“People wanting to go to the Makerspace — anyone from the 5Cs, for that matter — they weren’t able to have that availability to socialize, to work on projects, and they weren’t able to do the things they would typically do,” Gonzalez-Salgado said. “The Makerspace is a really valuable space.”
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