{
  "id": "2026-07-20-university-of-wisconsin-madison-campus-cooling-issues",
  "slug": "university-of-wisconsin-madison-campus-cooling-issues-2026-07-20",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Wisconsin-Madison",
    "shortName": "UW-Madison",
    "state": "WI",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "Campus Alerts",
    "enrollment": 49000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2026-07-20",
    "type": "facility",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "resolution": "ongoing",
    "headline": "Campus cooling issues",
    "headlinePublic": "Campus cooling issues",
    "summary": "On 2026-07-20, [UW–Madison posted: Campus cooling issues](https://news.wisc.edu/campus-cooling-issues/).",
    "outcome": "Campus cooling repairs ongoing; see source.",
    "casualties": {
      "killed": 0,
      "injured": 0
    }
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "2026-07-20",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "UW–Madison campus buildings are experiencing higher than normal temperatures and humidity due to a broken chilled water line.\n\nCampus is still open and operating, but many buildings are warmer and some are temporarily closed to the public and not cooled at all.\n\nFacilities Planning & Management crews are working on short-term mitigation measures as well as a long-term fix.\n\nPlease see the latest updates below and a companion FAQ, which is being sent to all students, faculty and staff and being translated into multiple languages.\n\nBuilding closures Frequently asked questions Latest updates July 20 campus cooling update ​July 20, 2026, 11:32 am July 13 campus cooling update ​July 13, 2026, 11:08 am July 6 campus cooling update ​July 6, 2026, 9:07 am June 30 campus cooling update ​June 30, 2026, 10:00 am Update: Important details regarding campus cooling issues ​June 28, 2026, 10:27 am Campus building cooling issues: Update and response ​June 26, 2026, 11:30 am Back to top Back to top Building closures The following buildings will be closed to the public and locked as of Tuesday, June 30 21 N. Park Street 45 N. Charter Street Agricultural Hall Agricultural Engineering Hall Armory & Gymnasium (Red Gym) Bascom Hall Bradley Memorial Building Educational Sciences Fleet & Service Garage Grainger Hall Henry Taylor Hall Hiram Smith Hall Ingraham Hall Kurt F. Wendt Commons Music Hall North Hall Radio Hall Science Hall South Hall Stock Pavillion William H. Sewell Social Sciences Building William S. Middleton Building The following buildings will be generally closed to the public. These buildings will have partial access and cooling preserved for specialty areas and functions. FP&M staff are working with building managers on detailed plans.\n\nFrequently asked questions Last updated July 3, 2026, 12:00 pm\n\nWhy is campus lacking cooling (air conditioning)? A chilled water main supply line at one of the three heating and cooling plants that serve campus suffered a significant break. Chilled water provides cooling (air conditioning) for campus.\n\nHow is campus trying to restore the lost cooling capacity? In the short term, UW crews have secured and are in the process of installing approximately 30 temporary chillers across campus. However, there will still be a shortfall from our normal cooling capacity until a permanent new chilled water line can be installed. This is expected to take at least one month.\n\nIs campus open for business and operating normally? Yes, however, some operations are being adjusted. A number of buildings will be without cooling and will be temporarily closed to the public. Other buildings will have limited cooling and experience higher than normal temperatures until a longer-term fix is completed.\n\nWhat are best practices when it’s extremely hot out? Drink water frequently; don’t wait until you feel thirsty. Avoid excessive caffeine or energy drinks.\n\nTake a preventative break if you feel overheated. Cool down in an air-conditioned building, if possible:\n\nTake a 10-minute cool down break every two hours for temperatures over 80°F.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://news.wisc.edu/campus-cooling-issues/",
      "sourceDescription": "UW–Madison Campus Alerts / News — Campus cooling issues",
      "annotations": [
        "Official campus cooling operational notice."
      ],
      "characterCount": 3091
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "2026-07-20",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "Based on current information, repairs to the broken chilled water line are expected to be completed before students return for the fall semester.\n\nThank you for your resilience through ongoing challenges to our operations, exacerbated by wildfire smoke that impacted campus and much of Wisconsin last week. I appreciate everyone on campus who made last-minute changes to support the health and safety of our campus community.\n\nI’m pleased to share some good news in this week’s campus cooling update: If you listened in to the Board of Regents meeting last Thursday, you likely heard that, based on current information, repairs to the broken chilled water line are expected to be completed before students return for the fall semester.\n\nThis is a complicated repair project, and I’m grateful to the many experts helping ensure a fix that meets short-term timelines and long-term campus needs. We will continue to share more about repair timelines as we make progress. A few reminders:\n\nThank you again for your cooperation and patienceas we work through this unexpected challenge. We will continue to provide these weekly updates and posts on the Campus Cooling Issues page.\n\nIf you have questions that are not addressed or need assistance for your particular situation, please reach out to ChilledWaterConcerns@wisc.edu.\n\nRobert CramerVice Chancellor for Finance and AdministrationStory copy here.\n\nTags: Campus cooling, campus facilities & construction, facilities\n\nHow Indigenous knowledge and science can work together to communicate about climate.\n\nThe university supports more than 287,000 jobs and helps drive private-sector growth.\n\nUW–Madison students head into the local community to find purpose and make a difference.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://news.wisc.edu/july-20-campus-cooling-update/",
      "sourceDescription": "UW–Madison Campus Alerts / News — July 20 campus cooling update",
      "annotations": [
        "Official campus cooling operational notice."
      ],
      "characterCount": 1729
    }
  ],
  "context": "UW–Madison chilled-water line failure causing campus building cooling issues (summer 2026).",
  "keyFindings": [
    "Official campus operational notice recovered."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Campus cooling issues",
      "url": "https://news.wisc.edu/campus-cooling-issues/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "July 20 campus cooling update",
      "url": "https://news.wisc.edu/july-20-campus-cooling-update/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "uw-madison",
    "facility",
    "cooling"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-07-27",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-27",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}