According to The Lantern, Ohio State drained Mirror Lake after last year's anti-Michigan fiesta "to allow for work on a sustainability study aiming to prevent water loss because of leaks in the lake’s structure."
In layman's terms: Ohio State was fed up with paying the city $46,000 annually for 50,000 gallons of water a day to fill their decrepit "lake."
Ohio State has begun the process of refilling to lake using water from an underground well buried deep beneath Mirror Lake. Unfortunately, there could be some drawbacks.
From Collin Binkley of The Columbus Dispatch:
It also could bring an unpleasant odor at first. Much like the spring water that first fed the lake decades ago, the well water contains hydrogen sulfide gas, which typically smells like rotten eggs or sewer gas, officials said.
“My feeling is that it would just be a waft here and there. It will not be a stench,” [Ohio State's energy and sustainability engineer Aparna] Dial said.
Only a waft here and there. It shouldn't be a problem; who doesn't love a good whiff of rotten eggs when they're taking a stroll through south campus?
As The Dispatch notes, though, the university could save $40,000 a year if their plan works.
But don't get too excited about Mirror Lake's resurrection. The lake will be need to be drained again, and it still remains unclear if the lake will be filled for this year's jump.
From Logan Hickman of The Lantern:
As of Tuesday afternoon, Administration and Planning spokesman Dan Hedman said he was not able to comment on whether the renovation will affect the jump, regardless of the project’s completion.
“We can’t really address hypothetical situations,” Hedman said.
Aparna Dial also refused to speculate on the future of Ohio State's Mirror Lake student tradition.
Hopefully OSU officials get their mind right, lest Chilliam Wallace has to lead another campaign for Mirror Lake freedom.
