A sewage blockage had caused lunch lines in the north side of the cafeteria to flood, delaying the serving of D lunch on Monday, Sept. 26. Confusion spread as students huddled in groups, overcrowding the open side of the cafeteria and the hallways nearby.

“We believe the cellophane wrapped on the trays got trapped in the drain and stopped up the pipes. The flushed water from the dishwasher caused the pipes to back up and flood. Any large object stuck in the drain will cause it to get clogged when water is pushing against it,” Sean Begley, Head Principal, said.

This blockage caused a flood of sewage water, contaminating the food that was going to be served. With hungry, curious students waiting, the cafeteria staff turned to their backup plan.

“Since the water was not clean, we had to throw away all of the food. We gave out food from the back warmers to students for no pay. It was the last lunch of the day, and we wanted to make sure everyone got fed. I did receive a few phone calls from concerned parents, and we apologize for any inconveniences,” Begely said.

Normally, there is a routine maintenance schedule to wrought out the pipes of any leftover food in the drains. Although the lunch personnel is trained to dispose of large debris remaining on the trays, anything too large stuck in the pipe will cause a clog.

“The pipes spiderweb and all go down to the sewer, but if there’s a blockage, the water will go in the path of least resistance. All the wastewater from the cafeteria started filling up in the pipe, coming out of the drain in the lunch line. Right now, everything is as good as it can be as long as large objects are not going down the pipe,” Begley said.