Casual Encounter: James Brown

James Brown was leaning on a temporary fence surrounding an 8-foot-deep manhole in the Engineering Fountain on Monday afternoon, watching the surface while his co-worker maneuvered the fountain's controls below.

Brown, a 44-year-old plumber and fountain technician, is originally from Valparaiso, Indiana. He has worked at Purdue for 15 years. He has a 9-year-old son and likes to golf in his free time, although he claims he isn't any good. His favorite teams are The Chicago Bears, the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls.

Maintaining the Engineering Fountain

Within the fountain's round wall is a manhole leading to a small chamber underneath the fountain that contains its water controls. The chamber is connected to the fountain's water reservoir, allowing technicians to add chemicals or replace water lost to evaporation.

Technicians access the chamber every day to check on the water, usually early in the morning before students head to class. The water is recycled into the reservoir via a square drain beneath the fountain's head. Pollutants can also enter the reservoir.

"It's a small body of water, so the chemical composition is harder to take care of," Brown said. "There are so many variables and factors that can change it: sunlight, animals."

Brown said sometimes people pour soap into the fountains, although it hasn't happened in several years.

"It turns them into foam and stuff. We have to drain them, wash out the chemicals," Brown said. "It's extensive work."

Maintaining old pipes

Brown said he tries to avoid jobs in the chemistry buildings, because their plumbing is old and not as monitored as they should be. Brown is on the "reactive" side of plumbing, meaning he fixes problems instead of installing new pipes.

Christmastime is busy for Brown. The Purdue plumbers receive an unusually high number of calls for frozen pipes that cause leaks on farms and campus.

"It's all hands on deck," Brown said.

Brown recalled working on a water main that broke near Memorial Mall in December 2016. The break caused multiple campus buildings to close, including Stewart Center and Hicks Undergraduate Library. Brown said the area was flooded.

"In those situations, you’ve got to dig down and find the water shut-off," Brown said. "There's quite a few methods to repair it."

A demanding career

Brown said he became a plumber soon after school and realized West Lafayette probably needed plumbers.

"There's not a lot of people doing the trades nowadays," Brown said.

Fewer plumbers for hire unfortunately doesn't lead to a higher salary, Brown said, and the job can be both physically and mentally demanding.

"There's softeners, reverse-osmosis systems, troubleshooting, and not all jobs are the same," Brown said. "You have to hit the books."

His advice to young plumbers? "Learn how to read blueprints, Brown said. "You have to be accountable for all the jobs you do and your work quality."

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