The Social Science and Public Administration building at Cal State Long Beach has mold damage due to the rainstorm that flooded campus during the winter break.
“This is a mold situation, and that could be dangerous,” said Mark Farrell, a carpenter for facilities management.
Farrell tore out about 50 linear feet of wall on the bottom floor of the building. Farrell said he needs to open up the walls and let them air out. Nothing is being done at the moment to prevent future damages.
“Five years ago, the school had a project around the building that stopped the flooding for a good while, until this winter,” said Raul Reis, journalism department chair.
The basement area is prone to water seeping in from the ground, caused by water table elevation when there is a large amount of water during the rain season, Reis said.
“The department is working on a relocating the department, but it will be hard to do during the middle of the semester,” Reis said.
CSULB Superintendent of Building Trades Paul Johnson wouldn’t comment on whether the journalism department is going to relocate.
“Southern California isn’t really set up for this type of rain,” Johnson said.
The Family and Consumer Sciences building also received some water damagebecause the drains were getting clogged from the Veterans Affairs building, said Marina Bendersky, department coordinator of the Family and Consumer Sciences department.
“The FCS damage has already pretty much been remediated.” Johnson said.
CSULB is working with a water-proofing company, but Johnson said he couldn’t remember which company had additional plans to prevent future damage.