A water pipe exploded Thursday afternoon, causing a flood on the sidewalk and courtyard on the north side of the MU Student Center.

Water bursting from the pipe created a fountain effect, spewing water 1 to 2 feet in the air. The water from the burst pipe flooded the back exterior of the building and extended into the grassy area behind it. No water entered the building.

The pipe burst as a result of workers setting up stakes in the courtyard behind the MU Student Center.

“They were trying to install some stakes for tents for Homecoming weekend, and they went through one of the water pipes,” Student and Auxiliary Services spokeswoman Michelle Froese said.

Froese said the tents were for the College of Agriculture’s celebration.

The flow of water was stopped in approximately 20 to 30 minutes. The incident caused water pressure within the MU Student Center to drop, causing the fire alarms to go off.

“They were hammering a tarp into the ground and then there was a circle of flags that said, ‘Don’t dig here,’ but I guess they did anyways,” junior Nicki Dabney said. “The water was all the way up to the sidewalk.”

Students, staff and faculty were evacuated.

“I was up in the office doing work when the fire alarm went off,” junior Chi Yao said. “We just kind of ran off. Many of my friends were being kind of fun and making jokes. We waited outside for 10 minutes, maybe, before people started coming back inside.”

Food facilities and plumbing were shut off for about 10 minutes during the incident.

“If we had no water, we wouldn’t want to be open for safety reasons,” Dining Center manager Alan Petersen said. “We shut off our sodas, everything like that, to make sure everything was safe.”

Water pressure was restored and food facilities reopened within the student center by about 5 p.m.

Damages have not yet been determined.