Jul 28, 2016 2 min read

South Fayette Township Library remains closed while township officials determine how to clean up the damage caused by a clogged sewer that overflowed in the building.

Andrea Iglar, community development director for the township, said heavy rains during the past few days caused the drain in one of the library’s restrooms to back up and flow into the library, a meeting room and an office adjacent to the library, which is located in the municipal building in space formerly occupied by the municipality’s Public Works Department. The library closed Wednesday, but the rest of the municipal building is open, Iglar said.

Library patrons are being directed to Bridgeville Public Library, which has had an operating agreement with South Fayette since 2013.

Cheryl Napsha, who is the director at both libraries, said people who have holds on items to be picked up at South Fayette can now obtain them at Bridgeville. No items were damaged at the library besides carpeting, she said.

“We were very lucky that it was just the carpet that got soaked,” Napsha said.

Both Iglar and Napsha said it is not clear how long the library will be closed. The South Fayette library’s 11 employees, in the interim, are working in Bridgeville.

Because of the uncertainty, story times and programming have been canceled. The “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” book release party has been canceled, as well.

Napsha said patrons are encouraged to attend the release party at Bridgeville, which is from 7:30 p.m. to midnight Saturday.

Also summer bridge playing at South Fayette, which is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, has been canceled. Summer bridge is held Tuesdays and Thursdays in Bridgeville.

“We don’t know how long we’ll be closed,” Napsha said. “We will see what the carpet has to say.”