By Ona Golonka
Smell that? That whiff of air that smells oddly familiar to Tillamook county? It's cow manure that's been piled under the Commons drinking fountain. But worry no longer. The manure is there no more. Actually, it never was.
The culprit was simply a cracked drainage pipe.
There were many rumors, some creative, others outrageous, that were circulating along with the odor drifting from the Commons drink fountain for the past few weeks. Such rumors can finally be put to rest since the vile odor that made noses cringe has disappeared.
"We have replaced the pipe," said Mr. No, a Physical Plant worker.
No one is fully certain how the original drainage pipe cracked. It could have happened after someone stepped on the drainage pipe during the summer when the Commons extension was being built, according to Damien Davis, dining manager at Bon Appétit. Alternatively, it could have ruptured due to water freezing in the pipes during winter, according to Mr. No.
Whatever the cause, the cracked pipe started leaking.
"The leakage from the pipe dropped onto the steam pipe, which generated more heat and more smell," said Mr. No.
The problem went unnoticed until the beginning of the school year.
"We started noticing the smell during the first week of school," said Davis. "It got better one day and then worse the next day."
Before the pipe was replaced, enzymes were poured down the drains to kill bacteria and to help neutralize the odor. Once the problem was identified, Physical Plant "tried to get over as soon as possible," said Davis.
The whole incident was purely a maintenance issue.
"It was nothing to do with cleanliness," said Davis. "Believe me, we clean."
In the future, the drinking fountain might not even exist.
"We are contemplating ripping apart he whole machine," Davis said. "But we have to see other options as well."
