Prison water update

Carbon County’s water system at the prison and Emergency Management Agency is getting back to normal.

On Thursday, Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein updated the board on the water issue that occurred earlier this week with the water tank that supplies the two facilities on the Broad Mountain. The county also approved a declaration of water emergency and a mutual aid agreement with Pennsylvania Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network for assistance and resources related to the water emergency at the facilities.

Nothstein said that Lehighton Water Authority tested the line and found no leaks, so officials are 99 percent certain the problem that started Sunday night was frozen lines.

“The issue has been resolved,” he said.

Tankers bringing in water finished filling the tank that feeds the prison Wednesday afternoon and Pottsville Environmental was doing the water quality testing before a boil advisory can be lifted.

The state requires two passing water quality tests before the prison can begin using the water for consumption again. The first test was done Thursday. The second test will be completed today.

Nothstein also addressed some confusion about a letter that was given to the inmates advising them to boil water.

“It says boil or use bottled water,” Nothstein said, noting that many people focused on the boil part of the letter because inmates cannot boil their own water for consumption.

“That is what DEP gave us. That’s what we had to hand out,” Nothstein said of the boil advisory. “We certainly couldn’t have the inmates boiling water, but they didn’t read the letter.”

Bottled water has been available to inmates during this time, the county said.

The water issue began sometime Sunday evening with the pump, causing the prison to lose pressure.

Nothstein said when the pressure drops to below 35 psi, the toilets begin to run nonstop, causing the tank to drain.

The system had to be systematically shut down to help build pressure back up and then turned back on in phases.

In another prison matter, the county approved a proposal with Fox Tapping Inc. of Wrightsville for the installation of a wet tap valve on the main water line feeding the prison at a cost of $4,160.

The wet tap will be used during a six-hour window when the water lines must be cut and lowered as part of the Emergency Lane widening project. The tap will also be useful in water issues at the prison.

Nothstein said the water system is 25 years old and the county needs to see if there is anything that needs to be done for the future.