UMD students call for compensation for persistent hot water issues in on-campus housing
By Angelina Nunez
December 19, 2025
Image credit: Unsplash
On-campus housing in the South Hill community at the University of Maryland has been experiencing hot water issues throughout the fall semester, and the issue worsened recently when students returned from Thanksgiving break and found no hot water at all.
UMD Residential Facilities sent an email to South Hill residents on Dec. 1, identifying a potential break in the underground hot water pipe that supplies South Hill. Still, since then, South Hill residents have reported prolonged hot-water outages.
“We didn’t have hot water consistently for like two weeks,” said Washington Hall resident and sophomore, Psychology major Aaron Gerber.
UMD installed a temporary fix for the hot water, according to an email notice from Residential Facilities on Dec. 8, stating that the equipment was successfully installed at the Central Utility Building at 11:30 a.m.
However, some South Hill residents said they are still experiencing the lack of hot water. Ben Vitek, a sophomore mechanical engineering major and resident of Kent Hall, reported still having no hot water at all on Dec. 10. The inconsistent and sometimes complete lack of hot water began to negatively impact residents' lives in the cold winter months.
“My fingers would be numb from the outdoors, but I couldn't come back to any warm water whatsoever,” said sophomore Washington Hall resident and Psychology and Criminology major Caroline Caughy.
South Hill residents have been experiencing constant issues with hot water and water pressure within the dorm halls since the beginning of the fall semester. Sophomore Baltimore Hall resident and Marketing major Alyssa Luizzi said she’s been experiencing on-and-off water and heat issues for three months.
“All year, we’ve been having water and heat issues. For people like myself, paying for their own housing and college, it is unfair that I am not getting what I’m paying for,” said Luizzi. “As a 19-year-old who had to work three jobs over the summer to try to afford it, it is very disappointing and discouraging.”
Many residents of the South Hill community have expressed their discontent with Residential Facilities over this issue. One resident took it a step further and created a petition calling for reimbursement of housing fees.
Sophomore, Criminology and Criminal Justice major and Baltimore Hall resident Liana Flowers created the petition on Change.org demanding compensation for the persistent hot-water issues in the South Hill community. Since students’ housing costs cover hot water, she believes that compensation is a just response to the ongoing issues.
Through her petition, Flowers argued that the Residence Hall Housing and Dining Agreement, which all South Hill residents signed, requires UMD to provide heat and water to its residents. Because of the persistent lack of hot water in the South Hill community, the University is failing to uphold its promise.
“We have not had consistent hot water for half of the semester. At times, we have not had any water at all,” said Flowers. “My disappointment about the situation does not solely stem from the lack of hot water. It comes from the lack of compensation on behalf of the school for not keeping their promises to their residents.”
Because of this, Flowers and almost 600 other students who signed her petition believe that UMD should provide compensation for students who are paying for water and heat that they are not receiving.
“My hope is for our collective voice to be more powerful than emails,” said Flowers. “Knowing that there are so many people that are equally as frustrated, equally as eager to be treated the way we deserve, makes this petition so much more meaningful.”
In an email sent to South Hill residents on Dec. 8 by the Department of Resident Life and Residential Facilities, they said, “Typically, refunds or housing fee adjustments aren’t provided for emergency utility or service disruptions,” in response to student inquiries about receiving compensation for housing fee credits.
On Dec. 15, the hot water issues became university-wide when boilers at the campus steam plant went offline, affecting the hot water in every building on campus. In the Residential Facilities' latest update, three of the five boilers remain online, and water temperature and pressure are rising to normal levels.
“All of us are paying for something that is not being provided. It is only fair that we are reimbursed for this basic necessity,” said Flowers.
UMD Residential Facilities sent an email to South Hill residents on Dec. 1, identifying a potential break in the underground hot water pipe that supplies South Hill. Still, since then, South Hill residents have reported prolonged hot-water outages.
“We didn’t have hot water consistently for like two weeks,” said Washington Hall resident and sophomore, Psychology major Aaron Gerber.
UMD installed a temporary fix for the hot water, according to an email notice from Residential Facilities on Dec. 8, stating that the equipment was successfully installed at the Central Utility Building at 11:30 a.m.
However, some South Hill residents said they are still experiencing the lack of hot water. Ben Vitek, a sophomore mechanical engineering major and resident of Kent Hall, reported still having no hot water at all on Dec. 10. The inconsistent and sometimes complete lack of hot water began to negatively impact residents' lives in the cold winter months.
“My fingers would be numb from the outdoors, but I couldn't come back to any warm water whatsoever,” said sophomore Washington Hall resident and Psychology and Criminology major Caroline Caughy.
South Hill residents have been experiencing constant issues with hot water and water pressure within the dorm halls since the beginning of the fall semester. Sophomore Baltimore Hall resident and Marketing major Alyssa Luizzi said she’s been experiencing on-and-off water and heat issues for three months.
“All year, we’ve been having water and heat issues. For people like myself, paying for their own housing and college, it is unfair that I am not getting what I’m paying for,” said Luizzi. “As a 19-year-old who had to work three jobs over the summer to try to afford it, it is very disappointing and discouraging.”
Many residents of the South Hill community have expressed their discontent with Residential Facilities over this issue. One resident took it a step further and created a petition calling for reimbursement of housing fees.
Sophomore, Criminology and Criminal Justice major and Baltimore Hall resident Liana Flowers created the petition on Change.org demanding compensation for the persistent hot-water issues in the South Hill community. Since students’ housing costs cover hot water, she believes that compensation is a just response to the ongoing issues.
Through her petition, Flowers argued that the Residence Hall Housing and Dining Agreement, which all South Hill residents signed, requires UMD to provide heat and water to its residents. Because of the persistent lack of hot water in the South Hill community, the University is failing to uphold its promise.
“We have not had consistent hot water for half of the semester. At times, we have not had any water at all,” said Flowers. “My disappointment about the situation does not solely stem from the lack of hot water. It comes from the lack of compensation on behalf of the school for not keeping their promises to their residents.”
Because of this, Flowers and almost 600 other students who signed her petition believe that UMD should provide compensation for students who are paying for water and heat that they are not receiving.
“My hope is for our collective voice to be more powerful than emails,” said Flowers. “Knowing that there are so many people that are equally as frustrated, equally as eager to be treated the way we deserve, makes this petition so much more meaningful.”
In an email sent to South Hill residents on Dec. 8 by the Department of Resident Life and Residential Facilities, they said, “Typically, refunds or housing fee adjustments aren’t provided for emergency utility or service disruptions,” in response to student inquiries about receiving compensation for housing fee credits.
On Dec. 15, the hot water issues became university-wide when boilers at the campus steam plant went offline, affecting the hot water in every building on campus. In the Residential Facilities' latest update, three of the five boilers remain online, and water temperature and pressure are rising to normal levels.
“All of us are paying for something that is not being provided. It is only fair that we are reimbursed for this basic necessity,” said Flowers.