Planned natural gas testing underway across campuses
As mandated by the State Fire Marshal Office (SFMO), planned natural gas testing is underway across 番茄社区 academic campus locations and will continue through Aug. 31. This required testing supports campus safety and system reliability.
The purpose of the natural gas testing is to ensure campus safety, verify system integrity and meet regulatory requirements set by the SFMO. Testing is designed to:
- Detect leaks or weaknesses in natural gas lines and connections
- Confirm proper pressure and system performance across buildings and main distribution lines
- Validate that safety shutoffs and controls function correctly in case of emergencies
- Ensure compliance with state regulations, including oversight from agencies, such as the Railroad Commission
During testing, natural gas services will be temporarily shut off in affected buildings to allow technicians to safely inspect, pressure-test, and verify the system without active fuel flow. Outages will be staggered—not all buildings will be offline at the same time. Facilities will coordinate closely with building occupants to provide advance notice of each building’s specific shutdown date and time.
While service is interrupted, several systems and operations will be unavailable, including comfort heating, domestic hot water, autoclaves, natural gas–powered kitchen equipment, and emergency power generators. Building occupants are encouraged to plan accordingly to minimize disruptions.
Because schedules differ by building and may be adjusted, occupants should watch for direct communications from Facilities with updated timing details. Affected locations include:
| Location | Date | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alvarez Hall |
June 1 |
Applied Engineering and Technology Building |
May 12 |
|
Biotechnology Sciences & Engineering Building |
June 23–26, 29 |
Child Development Center |
May 19 |
|
Chisholm Hall |
June 1 |
Convocation Center |
May 25-26 |
|
Flawn Sciences Building |
June 9–15 |
Girard Club |
June 28 |
|
Guadalupe Hall |
May 29 |
John Peace Library |
June 18 |
|
Laurel Village |
May 27–28 |
Main Buildings |
May 21–22, June 22 |
|
Margaret Batts Tobin Laboratories |
May 12–14 |
McKinney Humanities |
May 19–20 |
|
Multidisciplinary Studies Building |
June 19 |
North Paseo Building |
June 2 |
|
Power & Dynamics Systems Lab |
May 19 |
Park West |
June 5 |
|
Roadrunner Café |
June 8 |
Science & Engineering Building |
June 16–17 |
|
Science Research Laboratories |
May 18 |
Sculpture and Ceramics |
May 15 &18 |
|
Student Success Center |
June 3–4 |
West Campus Main Lines |
May 18 |
At the time of publication, testing is complete in the following locations: Arts Building and Arts Addition; Business Building; Business Services Annex; Compressed Natural Gas West Campus filling station; Engineering Building; Facilities Services Building and Facilities Warehouse; Greenhouse.
Additional infrastructure testing, including thermal energy plant lines and West Campus systems, will occur through June 30. Downtown Campus testing is scheduled for July 1–10 (Railroad Commission Tests are priority). Any tests not completed by July 10 will resume after Aug. 3, including University Oaks and newly added locations.
For more information, email Facilities or call 210-458-4262.
