EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — Crews were still working Thursday night to restore full water service at the El Paso County Downtown Detention Facility after a water main break and problems with the jail’s internal water system left parts of the building with little or no water pressure for several days.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said the problems began Tuesday after a City of El Paso water main break in the area affected service at the downtown jail.
El Paso Water repaired the break, according to the Sheriff’s Office, but water pressure problems continued because of issues within the detention facility’s internal system.
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In an update Thursday evening, the Sheriff’s Office said maintenance crews had removed and replaced all components suspected of being faulty.
The agency said the removed components had significant corrosion and sediment buildup, which officials believe may have contributed to the loss of pressure.
Crews were working to rebuild pressure on the building’s lower floors. The Sheriff’s Office said that if enough pressure is restored, booster pumps should be able to carry water to the facility’s upper floors.
If that does not work, officials said replacing the booster pumps would be the next step.
The Sheriff’s Office did not provide an estimated timeline for when full water service would be restored.
The Sheriff’s Office’s full update on the water pressure problems can be viewed below:
Several people contacted KFOX14/CBS4 over the past few days and said they were inmates inside the jail.
A woman who called KFOX14/CBS4 described toilets that could not be flushed and waste building up inside the facility.
“The toilets are filled with feces, urine, and it stinks,” she said. “And we’re supposed to eat like that?”
A man who called KFOX14/CBS4 on Thursday also said he was an inmate and described going several days without regular access to water.
“We’re already going on three days without water,” he said. “We haven’t been able to flush the toilet. We haven’t been able to shower. We haven’t got any water the way we’re supposed to.”
The calls were recorded before the Sheriff’s Office released its latest detailed update Thursday evening.
The Sheriff’s Office said inmates continued receiving regular meals and bottled drinking water. Buckets of water were also being distributed so toilets could be flushed.
Officials said academy cadets were assisting with delivering water to every floor of the facility.
El Paso Water provided a potable-water trailer, while the Texas Division of Emergency Management, El Paso Water and the Sheriff’s Office supplied bottled water.
Earlier in the response, the Sheriff’s Office said El Paso Water supplied the jail through a nearby fire hydrant. Officials said water reached the ninth floor, but the 10th and 11th floors remained the most affected.
About 63 female inmates from the jail’s general population were temporarily transferred to the Jail Annex to reduce immediate demand on the downtown facility’s water system.
The Sheriff’s Office said the U.S. Marshals Service visited the facility to assess conditions involving federal detainees housed there.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the Marshals Service determined the temporary measures being used to provide water were acceptable.
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards was also notified of the situation, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The agency said the commission advised that its efforts to maintain access to water were acceptable while repairs continued.
KFOX14/CBS4 separately reached out to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards for additional information about its review of the conditions and the facility’s compliance with state jail requirements. We are waiting to hear back.
KFOX14/CBS4 also requested a tour of the Downtown Detention Facility to see the affected housing areas and provide viewers with a better look at conditions inside.
The Sheriff’s Office responded with the following statement:
Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, we will not be able to accommodate a tour of the Downtown Detention Facility today.Our personnel are currently focused on resolving the water pressure issue, relocating inmates, and delivering water throughout the facility. As a result, the affected housing areas are actively occupied, and access is not available at this time.
The Sheriff’s Office said staff would continue manually distributing water while crews worked to restore pressure throughout the building.
This is a developing story. KFOX14/CBS4 will provide updates as more information becomes available.
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