Cal State Fullerton Dumping 2.5 Million Gallons of Water to Repair Cooling Tank

About 2.5 million gallons of water are being dumped into storm drains at Cal State Fullerton to empty a seven-story cooling tank that began to settle unevenly, school officials said Friday.

Although it is a shame to dump all the water, which is about enough to supply a family of five for 15 years, there is no other practical way to drain the tank to keep the construction project on schedule, university spokesman Jerry Keating said.

The new tank, which will supply the school’s air-conditioning system with cold water, is part of a $10-million heating, cooling and lighting construction project, Keating said.

Settling of such tanks is normal when they are filled for the first time, he said. Workers now must drain the tank, then make adjustments to compensate for the uneven settling, he said.

The draining began Thursday and should be done by Monday, he said.

Keating estimated the cost of the lost water at about $2,500, or slightly more than the school spends each month on water for all purposes.

“It’s too bad they couldn’t put (the water) in the arboretum lake,” said Leo Song, an employee at the biology department greenhouse near the new water chiller. “But that’s at least a half mile and (a hose) would have to run right through the middle of campus.”

Keating said, “It’s just not feasible to do that.” Distributing the water evenly would be “another problem. You need sprinklers so you do not soak one part,” he said.

Fall classes began Thursday, and only a few people, most of them from newspapers, inquired about the draining, Keating said.

“It’s a relatively small part of a multimillion-dollar project,” Keating said, “but the main thing is to fix it now.”

The massive tank will cool water overnight. This is expected to save energy costs by providing already-cool water during the day to the air conditioner, rather than having to cool warmer water.

A new science laboratory recently completed on campus and University Hall, an office and classroom building, both require the additional capacity of the new water chiller, Keating said.