On March 11 and 12, several of the bathrooms at Boston Latin School closed down due to a leak in the waste pipe in the Audio-Visual (A/V) room on the ground floor. 

At the end of R5 on March 11, senior custodian Mr. Robert Jelley was notified that the waste pipe in the A/V room on the ground floor was damaged, most likely from corrosion over time. The pipes from the bathrooms on the three floors above all led to this pipe, which leaked due to an opening on its side. 

To prevent further leakage, BLS Director of Operations Ms. Jesse Kwan and the custodial team closed all the bathrooms above the A/V room on the side of the School along the Avenue, including the faculty restrooms on the first and third floors. Plumbers from E.M. Duggan, a company contracted with Boston Public Schools, patched the pipe in order to reopen the bathrooms on Wednesday. Currently, all except for the women’s bathroom located directly above the A/V room and across from the Main Office, are open. 

During the closure, many students were surprised and disappointed to find several bathrooms unavailable. Abrianna Dumel (II) reflects, “[At first] it was a little jarring, and it feels […] a little inconvenient, considering we already don’t have that many bathrooms around the school.” Most students, however, quickly adapted to find other open ones around the school.

Throughout April break, the plumbers will fully replace the broken pipe, as the current patching is only a temporary solution. The seven days of the break will provide sufficient time for the process, which involves tearing down a part of the ceiling and wall, replacing the pipe and restoring the ceiling and wall. 

Around a month ago, the custodial team addressed another issue with the bathrooms at the back of the school, where the sewage pipes had backed up due to blockage. After investigating, Mr. Jelley determined that it was due to students flushing brown paper towels, which, unlike regular toilet paper, does not disintegrate in water. To prevent more issues in the future, he reminds students, “Please do not put anything down the toilet that is not flushable.” 

For now, thanks to the custodial team, all the open bathrooms are functioning properly.