Cooling Outage: Guidance for Researchers

Dear colleagues,  

A pipe in the chilled water system responsible for cooling on main campus requires repair. For the time being, research operations can proceed as normal. For information about the chilled water system and planned outage please see the Risk website. 

The VPR Office and Emergency Management are preparing for two scenarios:  

1. The chilled water system remains functional until it is shut down for the scheduled repair June 9-11, 2023; or 
2. The pipe fails before repairs can begin and the chilled water system is immediately shut down.  

Either scenario will impact main campus research operations. Please read this email closely for important information on how it will affect you. 

Impact on main campus research operations 

Research operations will be impacted by the chilled water system repairs in two ways: 

• Most buildings on main campus will not be cooled by air conditioning, resulting in uncomfortably warm temperatures in labs, offices and equipment rooms.  

• Research equipment that requires chilled water to operate will need to be shut down, connected to an alternate water source or operated at a reduced capacity. 

Entry to buildings will not be restricted, and electricity will not be shut off. You can access your labs and workspaces during the repair period if urgently required. 

Main campus research operations during the repair period 

We are asking researchers to proceed as follows: 

1. Pause your on-campus research activities and work from home during the repair period. Because of the short time period, most researchers will be able to do so with minimal disruption to their research. If you can proceed in this way, no further action is required.  
    
2. If one or more of the following criteria apply to your main campus research or infrastructure, please contact your ADR by Friday, May 19, 2023, to develop a mitigation plan:  
   • Research infrastructure or services required to ensure animal health and safety.  
   • A lab or workspace with materials (collections, chemicals, etc.) or equipment that cannot be safely left at an elevated ambient temperature for over 12 hours.   
   • Research infrastructure reliant on the chilled water system that cannot be shut down in a timely manner (less than one day) without significant risk of damage or destruction of the infrastructure in question. This includes sample/material storage infrastructure requiring regular maintenance or consumable replenishment. 
   • Ongoing research in which significant amounts of data would be completely lost or compromised if the experiment or project was terminated early/suddenly. This includes research contract work with contract deliverables that must be met for funding to continue. 

Your ADRs will help you develop a mitigation plan, and if required, submit a request to the VPR Office, Facilities and Emergency Management for additional mitigation assistance.  

If you are unsure if the criteria apply to your research, equipment or infrastructure, please contact your ADR to discuss.   

Research with human participants 

We recommend that all research with human participants scheduled for main campus during the repair period be moved to an alternate location or postponed. Please note that if you choose to meet with research participants on main campus during the repair period, they may be exposed to risks posed by excessive temperatures.  

If you have concerns about how to continue your research with human participants during this time, please contact your ADR.  

Researchers can implement changes to their project in advance of submitting modifications/REB approvals, as per TCPS Article 6.16, which states that changes can be reported after the fact, as they are being undertaken to reduce risks to participants. All post-hoc modifications, including venue changes, must be submitted to the CHREB or CFREB for approval.  

If you need to relocate to interact with your research participants, please ensure that you follow privacy and confidentiality protocols. 

If you have further questions, please contact chreb@ucalgary.ca or cfreb@ucalgary.ca. 

If you have questions about research operations during the repair period, please contact Robert Thompson, Associate Vice-President (Research) at avpr@ucalgary.ca. 

The latest information on the Chilled Water system repairs can be found at ucalgary.ca/risk/chilled-water-shutdown. 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.  

Dear colleagues, 

As a reminder, a pipe in the chilled water system responsible for cooling on main campus will undergo repair Friday, June 9, 2023. This system is responsible for the cooling of almost all buildings on main campus, as well as specialized equipment such as low-temperature freezers, walk-in coolers, IT data centres, and other laboratory and research and teaching equipment.

To allow for this work, the affected waterpipe will be temporarily shut off. While the chilled water line is being worked on, the majority of buildings on main campus will have limited or no cooling. Mitigation measures are in place for areas of the campus that have specialized or unique cooling requirements. 

Though we anticipate that repairs will be completed on June 9, we would like all researchers to prepare for a 3-day repair period as a precautionary measure. 

We are asking main campus researchers to prepare for the repair period and help reduce unnecessary heat generation in the following ways:

• Unless necessary, please do not work on main campus June 9-11, 2023
• On Thursday, June 8 before you leave for the day:
  • Turn off the lights
  • Turn off computers and monitors that are not in use
  • Safely store any temperature-sensitive chemicals or materials in their proper storage units
  • If feasible, shut down equipment that generates heat
  • Shut down any equipment that uses the chilled water system for which an alternative cooling solution has not been pre-arranged, and shut off the flow of chilled water to the equipment
  • Lower the sashes as far as possible on all fumehoods not in use, to reduce outdoor to indoor air cycling in lab-intensive buildings

Entry to buildings will not be restricted, and electricity will not be shut off. You can access your labs and workspaces during the repair period if required.

If you have questions about research operations during the repair period, please contact Robert Thompson, Associate Vice-President (Research) at avpr@ucalgary.ca.

For up-to-date information about the chilled water system and outage please see the Risk website.