Taxpayers Pick Up $400K Tab To Buy Bottled Water For Prison Inmates, Staff
TRACY (KPIX) - The Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy has an expensive problem and taxpayers are footing the bill.
The state prison is spending tens of thousands of dollars every month to buy bottled water for its inmates and staff.
Water at the facility comes from wells and must treated before it is used. A treatment plant was built in 2010 to do just that, at a cost of $32 million.
The idea was to clean the brackish water pumped from wells so prisoners could drink and shower safely.
When the plant was built, it was hailed as a technological marvel. It was the only licensed purification plant of its type in the state.
But all that technology came with glitches that are hard to fix.
Since October, the state has spent more than $400,000 on bottled water for staff and inmates, because the treatment plant has been down.
This year's state budget includes another $2 million to make repairs and get it working again.
The Department of Corrections says part of the problem is the parts are made overseas and are really difficult to get. It promises the new updated system will be simpler and more reliable.
Meanwhile, the prison has been fined more than $2 million because its wastewater is too dirty.
