Multiple Caius students have had running water restored to their accommodation following persistent issues with water access for taps, toilets, and kitchens.

Gonville and Caius’ Stephen Hawking Building (SHB) on West Road was left without consistent access to running water for several days, following an issue with a water pressure valve.

While the issue was resolved on Wednesday (12/03), with a consistent water supply being restored to the building, students expressed discontent at how the situation was handled, with many complaining about dirty dishes and insufficient shower facilities.

At the height of the issue, SHB resident Harriet Tomalin told Varsity: “Drinking water is scarce, and residents are rationing it, meaning dirty dishes are left piling up, toilets are left unflushed, students are left unwashed, and conditions are becoming (for lack of a better term) a bit grim.”

Varsity understands that students first experienced issues with the water supply last Wednesday (05/03), but the “lack of water” in SHB was first acknowledged in an email by the College on the Thursday (06/03) morning. The head of maintenance told students that a commercial contractor had been called, and that water would “hopefully” be restored by that mid-afternoon.

Later that afternoon, the head of maintenance explained in a follow-up email that the problems with the water supply had been caused by issues with the cold-water expansion vessel, which would need to be replaced.

The email added that the porters had been shown “a way of repressurising the system” each time the water failed, but there was “no guarantee of the length of time this will last”.

On Friday (07/03), the College emailed students to announce the provision of bottled water at the nearby Porters’ Lodge.

Harriet Tomalin told Varsity that one bottle of water “is simply not enough to cover all basic needs,” adding: “The College’s recommendation of using the singular bottle filling station in Harvey Court, a whole separate building, is not a substantial enough provision for a fundamental such as water.”

Friday’s email also recommended that students wanting a shower use the gym in Harvey Court – the accommodation block directly opposite SHB. Consequently, students reported frequent queues for the showers as a result of increased demand.

One student described the situation as “dire, with dozens of students sharing four showers”. The same student added: “While individual members [and] employees of the College have been compassionate and determined in resolving the issue, the level of communication has been inadequate, with updates vague and any mention of compensation absent.”

Students also raised the problem of unwashed dishes, with one student saying that they were having to eat in hall more frequently to avoid dirty dishes piling up. They said that this was taking up time they would otherwise have been using to study, claiming: “I feel like I have less time due to this problem,” adding that it poses a “major inconvenience [to] quality of life”.

Another student told Varsity: “It is pretty ridiculous that there have been no provisions made for washing up dishes, extra available showers or any other basic necessities. Quite a lot of people in SHB are hoping to petition for a rent reduction next term to offset the disruption and lack of provisions.”

Tomalin highlighted: “We really need water to cook meals in our oven-less gyps, and dishes are piling up (and starting to grow fur) because we can’t wash them, so arranging financially and practically for food is a struggle.”

Several students are reportedly considering advocating for a rent rebate due to the ongoing disruption, with Tomalin stating: “We pay about £200 a week for SHB rooms, and there’s about 75 residents, meaning in the time the water has been gone so far the College has made about £13k off our rent. That’s absurd to me - I feel like I am being scammed.”

A spokesperson for Gonville and Caius said: “This issue has been resolved, with the water pressure restored to the building. We have apologised to residents for the inconvenience.”

This comes after students of Gonville and Caius threatened legal action after a ceiling partially collapsed in on the G & H St Michael’s accommodation site. In an open letter, students called their living conditions “uninhabitable, unsafe, and entirely unsuitable for study or daily life”.