Saturday, October 11th, 8:47 PM:
An alert goes out to all Sonoma State Students and faculty. The water supply has been contaminated with dangerously high levels of Chlorine. No cause is listed. Using water is forbidden for the purposes of washing hands, showering, laundry, washing dishes, and drinking. RAs distributed 4 bottles of water to all residents living on campus dorms, and hand sanitizer was provided in campus buildings. The contamination only lasted 24 hours, but for students living in campus dorms or working on campus, that was a long time — here is how it affected our staff:
Will Schettler – Staff Writer, Sauvignon Village
Around 8:45 Friday night, I got an email from SSU Alerts saying SSU ALERT: SSU is investigating a water quality issue. Do not drink or use campus water until further notice. More info for residents to come. I then went to the store to get a couple of gallons of spring water.
At 11:30 pm, REACH employees knock on our door handing out papers basically restating what everyone had received via email, text, etc. Then we also got an email saying that there was going to be water being handed out at the Sauvignon Barrel Room, but after me and my roommate showed up we heard that it was going to be at least another 30-40 minutes until the water arrived. It was freezing out and I was not going to waste time waiting outside in the cold.
The following day I got an email from the university saying that Facilities was looking into the situation, trying to figure out what initially caused too much chlorine to get into the campus water system. Then I found out that water was to be restored to buildings individually, with priority focused on buildings that had events happening on that Sunday and the residential buildings. When it was all said and done, my apartment area didn’t get the all clear for having good water until that evening, long after many of the other buildings had their water fixed.
Delaney Dougherty – Staff Writer, Beaujolais village
I had just gotten off of work and I was getting ready for a shower when I got a text message warning to not use the water, then an email, and then a phone call. It threw me off because I had washed my hands multiple times already and I was actively about to shower so I became concerned when the notice came out, especially since it was so late at night on a Saturday.
I called my parents and they advised me to not use the water and I became concerned of what could be in the water for the school to send out multiple urgent notices. I ended up using a cup filled with Brita water to brush my teeth and wash my hands but I forgot about the notice and ended up brushing my teeth with the sink water and started to panic. But the next day I was fortunate enough to be able to go home and stay there while the water issue was being resolved.
Duncan Addicott – Staff Writer, Tuscany Village
During my typical Sunday morning routine, I would get breakfast in the morning (at least try to get it at 9 am when the kitchens on campus opens), but this Sunday was very different.
“Kitchen’s Operation Hours Sunday, October 12, 2025
Below are The Kitchen’s hours of operations for Sunday, October 12. Meals will be provided as Grab and Go/Take Out as there will be no dining in the Kitchens for the day.
Breakfast: 9:00am – 10:00am – Continental Breakfast
Lunch: 12:00 noon – 1:30pm – Slice/ Sandwich/ Salad Bar
Dinner 5:00pm – 6:30 pm – Chef’s and Garden”
I remembered that the reason why they had different hours (and no dine in) is because of the original message that Sonoma State University sent to all of campus also around 11 pm on Saturday October 11th
“Facilities Management has become aware of excess quantities of chlorine in campus water. Chlorine typically is present in the water supply to make it safe for drinking, but at higher levels can be unsafe. SSU’s licensed professional water operator is on site and is working to restore water quality to a safe level. An update will be provided by noon Sunday, October 12.
In the meantime, bottled water for consumption and cooking will be made available at the Barrel Room in Sauvignon Village and at the Beaujolais Village Meeting Room. Additionally, rather than washing hands with tap water, sanitizer should be used. Hand sanitizer will be delivered to the two locations at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.”
During my typical Sunday morning routine, I would get breakfast in the morning (at least try to get it at 9 am when the kitchens on campus opens), but this Sunday was very different.
Back to Sunday morning, I just got to kitchens and saw that they only had bagels, donuts, yogurt, and peaches; but no eggs or anything that needed water to cook (that’s also why they had no hamburgers), and I was one of the first students so to drink, all they had out was water until the later lunch and dinner times.
Mariah Gragg – Opinion Editor, Recreation Center
I get to work at the Rec Center and begin my shift at the rock wall. My coworkers and I had gotten the call about the water still being unusable about an hour before. Since we work at the gym, we were talking about how empty it was that day due to the fact people couldn’t get water to work out, let alone shower after. As we were watching facilities walk throughout the gym, I couldn’t help but notice that none of the water fountains weren’t cautioned off. Maybe not that big of a deal in a relatively empty gym but it just made me question how they were really taking precautions for this situation. Then, my coworkers who are mostly sophomores mentioned how they wouldn’t be able to cook anything that required water or even go to the dining hall and were left to think the whole shift about what they were going to eat tonight. Upon hearing this, I felt it’d only be right for the school to try to make up for this lost time and give them a case of water and maybe a comped doordash order but none of that happened. I would think after everything that has happened and the uncertainty on the campus that they would take more care of their students. Seems like I could be wrong.
Rylan Valdepena – Managing Editor, Tuscany Dorms
I was at a friend’s house when both of our phones went crazy. We got texts, emails, and calls telling us it was an issue with the water – and I texted my roommates to see what was going on. One of them had literally just poured a glass of water and we yelled at them to not drink it. I am really thankful I wasn’t in the dorms at the time of the chaos, but I was afraid to go back until the situation was resolved. I ended up having to ask if I could stay an extra night at my friend’s while they sorted the situation out – I am the kind of person who absolutely needs a shower every morning to wake up and I was also hoping to do my laundry soon which they said was also off limits. It was a scary time and I was so glad when they sent out an all clear 24 hours later and felt safe to return to campus.
Austin Metzger – Editor in Chief, Tuscany Dorms.
I am playing a video game on my computer when I receive a phone call from a number I don’t recognize. I’m not one to pick up calls from random numbers, but since the location of the number simply read “UNKNOWN”, I curiously picked it up. An automated voice said in repeat “SSU alert, SSU alert.” The message told me to not use the water in my dorm or on campus. No drinking, washing, laundry, and more. Besides being able to flush my toilet, I couldn’t use any of the tap water in my dorm. At midnight a friend of mine, who happens to be a Residential Advisor, asks if I wanted to hang out to watch a movie. I agreed, and the two of us watched a movie in his dorm. While watching the movie the topic of the water contamination came up. He told me that while he was back home this weekend, he had to rush back to the campus at 9:00pm due to his position as a residential advisor. They needed him on duty in order to inform his residents of the water contamination, cutting his weekend back at home short.
