University History - 1997 Flood

Logistics & Communication Challenges

Published July 2007

Campus police headquarters, the intended emergency operations center, had been destroyed by the flood. Accordingly, a control center with functioning telephone and computing resources was set up in the Administration Building.

Photo of flood waters surrounding the Eddy building

Water surrounds the Education Building on July 29, 1997.

There, the Emergency Management Team, a small group headed by Gerry Bomotti, and including Judson Harper and other members of the president’s cabinet, provided overall coordination. Additionally, a larger group of fluctuating size, composed of key leaders of academic and support services units, met daily to discuss specific needs and solutions affecting their areas of responsibility.

One of the first steps taken by Bomotti was to contact his administrative counterparts at the University of North Dakota and California State University at Northridge, each of which had recently experienced natural disasters on their campuses.

  • How had North Dakota handled the flood of April 1997?
  • How had Northridge dealt with the earthquake of January 1994?
  • Which outside resources had they found most useful and reliable?

Five million gallons of water to pump

Photo of water being pumped from CSU buildings

Water being pumped from Morgan Library.

Meanwhile, until these resources could be identified, John Morris, manager of CSU facilities operations, immediately set his crews to work. Five million gallons of water had to be pumped from inundated buildings and their structural integrity inspected. Cost estimates of damage had to be made, including essential systems such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, electricity, elevators and alarms.

Rapid cleanup imperative

Rapid cleanup and disinfection procedures were imperative in order to control mold growth, which would endanger people with asthmatic and allergy problems. Document recovery operations had to be addressed; not only library books, faculty papers and administrative records, but even a safe containing $1.5 million in promissory notes.

Dissemination of info critical

Highly essential also was the accurate dissemination of information. With telephone lines and computer wiring damaged in many buildings, their restoration became critical. For awhile, "It was cell phone city out there," recalled Morris jokingly. Nowhere was the value of the information age more evident than in the regular updates on the recovery process provided on the CSU telephone messaging system and Web page.

1993 World Trade Center contractor hired

In my 20 years of dealing with situations like this, this university staff has been one of the easiest to work with.

Bill Boss

Within a few days an outside contractor, Boss and Associates, was on campus handling the seemingly endless array of tasks essential to the university’s physical recovery. Best known his work at New York City World Trade Center following its 1993 bombing, Bill Boss was soon coordinating the efforts of more than 600 workers and six main contractors at CSU.

Within a week, despite thirty-nine damaged buildings, he could report that he was on or ahead of schedule, in part because "In my 20 years of dealing with situations like this, this university staff has been one of the easiest to work with."

Cooperative spirit and determination in face of disaster

This cooperative spirit and the determination to prevail in face of disaster was the defining quality of the CSU community. President Albert Yates had long sought ways to promote a sense of community, but it was adversity that actualized this goal. Resourcefulness, patient resolve and generosity typified the behavior of nearly everyone associated with or concerned about the University in this time of crisis.

More about the flood

Historical accounts in this series of articles, were compiled and edited from Democracy's University - A History of Colorado State University 1970-2003, written by James E. Hansen II (University Press of Colorado, 2007).

To order a book, call (970) 491-6198, e-mail Resource.Center@ucm.colostate.edu or visit 115 General Services Building on Colorado State’s main campus. Cost is $27, not including tax or shipping. The books are also available at the CSU Bookstore in the Lory Student Center.

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