New Air Systems Unveiled At Westover Elementary School

STAMFORD, CT — While the temperature and humidity levels were high outside of Westover Elementary School on Friday, inside it felt cool and dry.

On Friday, Stamford Mayor David Martin and city engineer Lou Casolo introduced the new Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems (DOAS) that were recently installed to help address a decades old problem of mold at the school.

Two DOAS units are up and running, and will service 46 classrooms when school begins on Aug. 30. A third system is expected to be installed towards the end of September which will support 21 rooms.

The systems bring outdoor air into the building where it gets dehumidified before entering classrooms. Previously, air was brought in by the unit ventilators which condition the air in each classroom, explained Casolo, but the moisture was not taken out.

As a result, coupled with poor maintenance and the unusually humid environment in the valley surrounding the school, condensation built up on ceiling tiles and pipes, and mold developed.

Martin said the problems first began in 1998, and went unnoticed until it was discovered in the fall of 2018.

"Over the years, what was happening was water was coming in from the roof, water was coming in from the drainage spouts, water was coming in up from under the ground, water was going through the unit ventilators," Martin said. "This school had lots of water problems which of course, depending upon the maintenance, resulted in mold."

The city and Stamford Public School officials teamed up to form a joint Mold Task Force. The school closed in 2018, and a temporary school for Westover students was built in Harbor Point while construction to remediate the problem began.

The DOAS systems add to an original $24.3 million mold remediation project at Westover, which included the replacement of all ceiling tiles, millwork, cabinetry, and a significant amount of floor tiling located on the first floor of the school, as well as the replacement of essential systems to meet updated building codes. It was funded almost entirely by Stamford taxpayers.

After those items were completed, humid air was still coming into the building, so it was recommended that the DOAS systems be installed. The cost for the systems is about $2.8 million, Casolo said. Viking Construction served as the general contractor, and Encon as the mechanical subcontractor.

This problem is not confined to Westover. Hart Elementary School has a similar issue related to moisture entering the building, although not as serious, Martin said.

"The challenge is that the school may need to be completely rebuilt. It's so old, it needs so much work, we don't want to pour a lot of money into a school and tear it down. That's waiting for the school facility plan, so we are going to see if it makes sense to invest, or if it's better to restart from scratch," Martin added.

Martin praised Casolo and his team for working quickly to have two of the three units ready for the beginning of the school year. Because of supply chain issues created by the pandemic, the third unit is awaiting completion in Lexington, Ky.

Officials hope installation can be completed by October. Portable dehumidifiers will be used in those classrooms in the meantime.

"Lou and his team, along with Viking Construction, did a miracle job. Their first estimate was we would not be here today. Their first estimate was we could get this fixed with the DOAS system a year from now," Martin said. "Hopefully, cross our fingers, this will finally conquer the problems that started in 1998 that weren't really addressed until we all came together."