Spencer Art Museum forced to close after water main break
LAWRENCE - KU maintenance was hard at work Wednesday morning, fixing a water main break that left parts of the Spencer Art Museum under water.
"If you would have come down the street this morning, this street was soaking wet all the way down to the bottom of the football stadium,” says Joe Monaco, a spokesman for KU. “There was some above ground water."
It made quite the entrance into the museum, flowing from the ceiling and hitting the floor. Crews worked all day long cleaning up the mess
The library, located in the basement got hit the hardest. The second floor saw minor damage. KU officials say the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors are all safe from harm, meaning the artifacts and artwork is all dry. City officials say water main breaks are common this time of year. "We'll see an increase in the summertime,” says Jeannette Klamm, Utilities Programs Manager for the city. “We had a rash of water main breaks a few weeks ago, and we've had kind of a lull right now."
That lull could be coming to an end. Wednesday’s break was the second one in 24 hours. Officials say when the ground is dry it tends to move around, so if there is weakness in the pipe, it's likely to burst.