Pipes at root of Juniper Elementary water woes

Juniper Elementary School in northeast Bend has had maintenance crews working this week on the main line pipes where they believe tree roots have grown to cause a troublesome clog.

That clog has forced them to shut off the water this week, a surprise to some.

“My son had to go to the bathroom, so we just went in there and found out there’s no running water here at this school,” parent Kaylee Hammond said Tuesday afternoon.

That’s right — no running water since Monday.

“Yesterday, we found out there’s a clog in the main line, and we put our contingency plan into effect to make sure that our kids had adequate access to services,” said Juniper Principal Dan Wolnick.

That contingency plan consists of portable toilets instead of bathrooms, hand-washing stations instead of sinks and meals prepared by the district’s Nutrition Services Department.

But why weren’t parents notified of the problem on Day One?

“We’d solved the problem so quickly that it was just a small disruption to the day, but it happened again today (Tuesday),” Wolnick said. “It was a different problem, but of the same nature, so we want to make sure everybody knows what’s going on.”

Wolnick communicated with parents about the issue Tuesday afternoon when school let out.

“Running water would be great, but I’m sure they’re trying to stay right on top of it,” Hammond said. “They’re pretty good about making sure things are taken care of quickly.”

Late Tuesday afternoon, the maintenance crew actually turned the water back on to test the pipes, so the folks at Juniper could be in the clear.

“Tomorrow (Wednesday) we’re looking forward to a normal day, but our maintenance team is still working to identify the problem right now, and make sure that we have everything cleaned up and ready to go,” Wolnick said.

Tuesday evening, the school sent a voice mail and text messages to every parent letting them know of the problem. Updates also are posted on the school’s Website.

Wolnick is optimistic the water system should be back to normal very soon.