{"id":324848,"date":"2026-06-06T00:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T00:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/324848\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T00:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T00:08:11","slug":"managing-company-of-a-controversial-detention-center-in-dilley-texas-says-water-at-its-facility-is-safe-city-of-dilley-did-not-test-it-n-univision-inmigracion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/324848\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing company of a controversial detention center in Dilley, Texas, says water at its facility is safe. City of Dilley did not test it | N+ Univision Inmigraci\u00f3n"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lab reports obtained by N+Univision Investiga show that the city of Dilley didn\u2019t conduct any water quality tests directly to the Processing Center at Dilley, Texas during 2025. However, CoreCivic, the company that manages the center, has maintained that the city tests its water supply monthly.\"N+<\/a>\"The<\/p>\n

The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley is managed by CoreCivic.<\/p>\n

Imagen N+Univision<\/p>\n

In response to mounting complaints from detained families questioning the water quality at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas (DIPC), the facility managing company, CoreCivic, has claimed repeatedly that the City of Dilley tests the water supplied to the site on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n

The wording of the company’s communications does not appear to leave any room for doubt.<\/p>\n

\u201cCity of Dilley Water Department conducts monthly independent tests on DIPC’s water supply to verify its safety and cleanliness for drinking\u201d, the company stated in a \u201csetting the record straight\u201d press release published on its website and communications answering media requests.<\/p>\n

However, documents obtained by N+Univision Investiga, show that the city did not conduct any water quality tests directly at the center in 2025.
At our team\u2019s request, Dilley\u2019s administrator, Yolanda Mor\u00e1n, sent 15 test reports produced by a private laboratory in Universal City, Texas. These samples were taken at seven specific locations during the year.<\/p>\n

\"Microbiological<\/p>\n

Microbiological report based on three water samples collected in the City of Dilley in June 2005<\/p>\n

Imagen .<\/p>\n

Among the sample sites were urban areas of the desert town of more than 4,000 residents, as well as Crawford Road, Prison West Highway 85, and the Civic Center.<\/p>\n

None of the reports mention the 4,200-bed DIPC facility, which reopened in March 2025 under an intergovernmental agreement between the City of Dilley and ICE.<\/p>\n

CoreCivic\u2019s director of public affairs, Ryan Gustin, explained to N+Univision Investiga that the company never claimed that water samples were taken directly from DIPC facilities, but suggested consulting with the city to determine whether the test results from a nearby prison could be comparable to those from DIPC, given the short distance between the facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe water service at Dilley (Detention Center) is on the same line as the nearby state prison,\u201d Gustin wrote. This is likely reflected in the reports you (the reporter) received from the City,” he added.
The city has not responded to a request asking for the accuracy of CoreCivic’s claim.<\/p>\n

\"Distance<\/p>\n

Distance between the DIPC detention center and the Dolph Briscoe Unit prison, identified in water quality reports as Prison West Highway 85.<\/p>\n

Imagen Graphic: N+Univision.<\/p>\n

The medium-security state prison identified in the water reports as Prison West Highway 85 is located just over a mile from DIPC. Its official name is the Dolph Briscoe Unit. Tests conducted in 2025 indicate that the water at this site meets safety standards, free of coliform bacteria and E. coli contamination, ruling out the presence of human or animal fecal matter.<\/p>\n

However, a water treatment expert from a Miami university who asked to remain anonymous to maintain his independence, explained that taking samples at the site in question is more accurate than obtaining them from a nearby location.<\/p>\n

That practice, he added, makes it easier to verify whether water that arrives at the facility in good condition becomes contaminated later due to deficiencies in the maintenance of the site\u2019s pipes or storage system.<\/p>\n

Mor\u00e1n, Dilley\u2019s administrator, has not answered N+Univision Investiga about whether the water quality at DIPC is comparable to that at Prison West Highway 85 due to their close location.<\/p>\n

Mor\u00e1n did not respond to whether CoreCivic\u2019s claim that the city conducts monthly independent tests of DIPC\u2019s water supply is accurate. This question was posed on April 30, 2026, along with the request for the reports that were sent last week.<\/p>\n

CoreCivic has also maintained that the water received by DIPC is the same as that supplied to the City of Dilley. The problem is that the city has not yet published the 2025 Consumer Confidence Report. Only the 2024 report is available on the city\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The 2024 Consumer Confidence Report for Public Water Systems acknowledged four violations of the consumer confidence, one of which involved a failure to collect follow-up samples at an unidentified site where fecal coliform bacteria and E. coli had been detected.<\/p>\n

The city was required to collect new samples within 24 hours of learning of the bacteria’s presence but failed to do so.<\/p>\n

The presence of these bacteria indicates potential contamination with human or animal waste, which can cause short-term effects such as diarrhea, cramps, and nausea.<\/p>\n

These bacteria “may pose a special risk for infants, young children, and people with compromised immune systems,” states the report.<\/p>\n

The violation began on August 24, 2023, and was not corrected until two months later, according to the same document.<\/p>\n

Another violation admitted by the city is its failure to submit the annual report \u201cthat adequately informs you about the quality of our drinking water and the risk from exposure to contaminant detected in our drinking water\u201d.<\/p>\n

The city acknowledged to N+Univision Investiga that they have been experiencing a year-long delay in providing the study.<\/p>\n

Mor\u00e1n informed that the 2025 report will be available in July of this year.<\/p>\n

Gustin said that state officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have also conducted their own assessments, \u201cconfirming that the water is safe and clean for consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

These reports have not been published on the company\u2019s website. According to Gustin, water access points at the facility are equipped with filters to ensure consistent taste.<\/p>\n

Many families detained at DIPC have complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water, and some say they prefer to buy bottled water because they fear their children will get sick if they drink from the taps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt tasted like rotten water,\u201d said one of the minors who had been detained at the DIPC. Representative Joaqu\u00edn Castro and Amnesty International have called for the closure of the center and the release of the detained families and minors, citing violations of fundamental rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe families detained there have reported prolonged incarceration without due process, denial of medical care, and inadequate access to uncontaminated drinking water,\u201d stated Amnesty International.<\/p>\n

Correspondent Lidia Terrazas and senior producer Ingrid Rojas contributed to this story. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lab reports obtained by N+Univision Investiga show that the city of Dilley didn\u2019t conduct any water quality tests…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-324848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}