University never runs out of steam thanks to this underground crew

Lead steamfitter Roy Rios shines his flashlight into a tight space between steam pipes while steamfitter Bob Sulzer observes. Photo by Rex Bavousett.

In some places on campus, though, spring thaw comes extra early. Near Danforth Chapel, for example, there’s a long strip of lawn that’s practically green all year. Why?

Steam.

"That’s a hot one," said Roy "Taco" Rios, lead steamfitter in the mechanical distribution section of Facilities Services Group. Rios was talking about the tunnel that runs beneath the grass by Danforth Chapel on its way to the IMU. It’s part of a subterranean network of steam tunnels spread across campus. The tunnels hold large pipes that carry steam from the Power Plant to the many University buildings that are steam heated. There are about five miles of tunnels in all, stretching as far north as Stanley Hall, as far east as the State Historical Society on Gilbert Street, and as far west as the hospital. In his 15 years at Iowa, Rios has covered every inch of them.

They call it running the tunnels. As part of regular maintenance, steamfitters visit every tunnel about once a month in search of leaks. When they find one, there’s no mistaking it.

"High-pressure steam is very loud," said Rick Maurer, assistant lead steamfitter. Once a leak is found, the steamfitters wear earplugs to work on repairs.

There’s more than just noise to deal with, though. There is heat, and there are tight spaces and vertical drops of up to 40 feet. Iowa’s safety record is excellent. Nobody is permitted into the tunnels without notifying the mechanical distribution office. Nobody goes in alone; steamfitters work in pairs. Nobody goes in without a radio and flashlight. None of the staff can recall a major injury, but minor ones are all in a day’s work.

"Our work is very physical," Maurer said.

	Steamfitter Bob Sulzer consults blueprints in the mechanical distribution office for utility line locations. Photo by Rex Bavousett.

From his desk at the Court Street Services Building, mechanical distribution manager Garry Creed can check the steam temperature and pressure at 133 points on campus.

"It’s 410 degrees leaving the Power Plant," Creed said. "At the IMU, it’s 370."

Despite being insulated, the pipes let off some heat in the tunnels. The temperature inside can vary from 70 to 140 degrees. The steamfitters never make it an endurance contest. When one feels too hot, he goes out to cool off. Nevertheless, steamfitters know better than to wear shorts and t-shirts.

"You touch a pipe once, and you’ll know why," Rios said. "It’ll burn you good."

Aside from regular maintenance and repairs, steamfitters get occasional calls to run the tunnels for other reasons. Steamfitters are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to deal with emergencies.

"We get called in by Public Safety sometimes because somebody’s dropped their keys down the grating," Rios said. "We got a call one weekend that someone had gone in the tunnels and never came back out. We had to run the tunnels, but we never found anyone." It turned out they were safe and sound outside the tunnels.

Creed recalls an even odder incident.

"Somebody called the work control center that there were some baby ducks in the tunnel," Creed said. "Two guys had to go in and get three little baby ducks out of there. They carried them all the way down to the river and turned them loose."

So next winter, when you see long paths of green through the snow, remember who’s right below the surface. It’s Rios and his fellow steamfitters, keeping the campus warm.

Article by Sam Samuels