This campus contains 15,000-20,000 sprinkler heads.
By Mandy Derfler
aderfler@student.alamo.edu
Automatic sprinklers on the north side of Gonzales Hall did not turn off Friday morning, flooding the walkway south to Candler Physical Education Center.
Facilities superintendent David Ortega said the malfunction derived from two possible sources.
Either a timer failed to send the shutdown signal, or the solenoid, the part of the sprinkler system controlling the opening and closing of the valves, never closed, he said.
The sprinklers in that zone have been turned off until the problem is found and fixed.
The campus sprinkler system comprises 15,000 to 20,000 sprinkler heads and is broken down to 24 zones. Each zone has 20 clocks controlling the timing of the sprinklers, Ortega said.
Normally, the system turns on at 4 a.m. and cycles through the different zones until 8 a.m., he said. Each zone runs five to 10 minutes.
On Friday, Ortega said the sprinklers in the zone north of Gonzales Hall were running for a couple of hours. They were still running at 9:30 a.m. and were turned off before 10:30 a.m.