When: Starting Saturday, July 15 at 12:00 a.m. through Sunday, July 23, UCR’s Central Plant will be conducting a routine inspection and maintenance of the steam utility distribution system.
Why: The inspection is to ensure continued reliable delivery of pressurized steam and hot water for campus buildings, including for sterilization and other laboratory processes and climate control. This time of year requires a minimal demand for steam, due to warmer weather and a decrease in the population on campus, and has the least impact on the campus community.
Impact: During the shutdown, heat and steam will be off to facilities throughout campus. This will affect building heating, hot water, sterilization, autoclave operations, and other laboratory processes. Affected buildings are listed below.
Safety: Campus boilers will be turned off to cool for two days, and work will commence on July 17 through July 21. The shutdown is labor intensive, both in the Central Plant and the steam tunnels. Skilled trade staff will work 10-12 hour shifts to shut down boilers, drain the system, make necessary repairs, reignite boilers, reintroduce high-pressure steam, check the entire system for leaks and bring buildings back online. The work is done in an environment that has no climate control and temperatures exceed 110 degrees, 24 hours a day, in a confined space. Boilers are planned to be relit on the morning of July 22 to have steam fully restored by July 24.
Affected Buildings:
*MRB boiler hours have changed to be in operation from July 18-20, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Anderson Hall
• Athletics & Dance
• Batchelor Hall
• Biological Sciences
• Bourns Hall
• Boyce East Vivarium (trailer)
• Boyce Hall
• Boyden Lab
• Chapman Hall
• CHASS Interdisciplinary
• Chemical Sciences
• Custodial & Grounds
• Entomology
• Fawcett Lab
• Fine Arts
• Genomics
• Geology
• Greenhouses
• Growth Chamber Facility
• Highlander Union Building (HUB) – Limited availability
• Hinderaker Hall
• Humanities & Social Sciences
• Insectary & Quarantine Facility
• Life Sciences & Lecture Hall 1500
• Materials Science & Engineering
• Multidisciplinary Research Building (MRB) – Limited availability
• Olmsted Hall
• Physics
• Pierce Hall & Pierce Annex
• Psychology
• Rivera Library
• School of Medicine Education
• School of Medicine Research
• Science Laboratory
• Science Library
• Soil Sterilization Station
• Spieth Hall
• Sproul Hall
• Student Academic Services (SASS)
• Watkins Hall
• Webber Hall
• Winston Chung Hall
The following are not impacted:
• Housing facilities will not be impacted.
• *MRB will have boilers to provide steam from July 17-21, 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• *MRB boiler hours have changed to be in operation from July 18-20, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• HUB Dining will have a backup boiler for hot water.
Thank you for your patience as we continue our commitment to maintaining a safe and sustainable campus environment. If you have questions regarding this inspection process, please call us at (951) 827-4214 or email us at facilities@ucr.edu.