Ball State geothermal ruptures force remote classes, disrupt campus heating and cooling

Ball State spent two days repairing several unexpected breaks in its campus geothermal loop, reporting three ruptures within about 24 hours. The university moved to remote instruction Friday after temperatures in some buildings reached the 80s and Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer Mike Fowler linked a campus-wide air-conditioning outage to the geothermal system. The most recent failure reportedly sprayed a mixture of water and pipe insulation onto the main street through campus.

Ball State officials said it is "too early to provide a definitive assessment of the cause" and that they are unsure whether additional ruptures will occur. The geothermal network — completed in its first phase in 2012 — provides heating and cooling to several dozen Muncie campus buildings; repairs were under way over the two days covered in the report.

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