Douglas County Jail Inmates Complain About Contaminated Water

ROSEBURG, OR. — Inmates are raising concerns about contaminated drinking water at the Douglas County Jail.

Douglas County commissioners and the sheriff’s office say some inmates are to blame.

A former inmate, who wished to remain anonymous, claims that the worm-like animals were found in all water sources in the prison, including drinking water.

The inmates say they alerted guards after they discovered the animals on Thursday.

“One of the drains got clogged, so we immersed it in water, and there were hundreds of parasites in the water we drank,” a former prisoner told our newsroom.

We spoke with a woman whose fiance is in prison. She claims this problem repeats itself every time they are released.

“That call last night really bothered me because yes, they’re in jail, but they can’t be treated like animals and that’s what’s happening,” the woman said. “It’s not fair that these boys have to deal with this.” or calm down when it shouldn’t be.”

County commissioners and the sheriff’s office say that’s not the case.

They released a joint statement saying that adults in custody (sometimes called AIC) have access to clean drinking water.

Full statement below:

In response to media inquiries regarding water conditions at the Douglas County Jail, we want to make it clear that there are no issues with the drinking water system at the Douglas County Justice Building. The water supply system has been tested and the drinking water is clean, safe and fully suitable for consumption by both adult inmates (AICs) and staff.

Unfortunately, this issue reported today is the result of yet another act of vandalism by AICs incarcerated in the Douglas County Jail who are intentionally damaging and disabling our indoor sewer system. AIK vandalism is a costly and persistent problem in correctional facilities and prisons. Staff discovered that the reported problem was due to AIC intentionally breaking seals on traps in sink and toilet drains. P-traps are installed to keep sewer gases, insects, bacteria and debris from returning to the sewer pipes. It is well known that all sewer systems can be vulnerable to gases and insects and that P-traps are necessary to prevent them from re-entering the sewer. When the p-trap seal in a sink drain is intentionally compromised by AICs occupying the cell, it creates an opportunity for gases, insects, bacteria, and debris to escape through the drain pipes and into the sink and toilet.

It is unclear to us why AIC would break siphon seals or trap debris and insects, or why they would drink water from toilets or sewer pipes when they always have clean, safe drinking water available.

Douglas County facilities staff are on duty 24/7 to handle scheduled and routine maintenance, as well as issues resulting from AIC vandalism at the Douglas County Jail. As soon as this problem was reported, facility staff immediately arrived on site, repairing the drain and taking steps to correct the problem. As a side note, we also wanted to let the public know that RUSA is currently installing a brand new sewer system at the Douglas County Justice Building.

The county and sheriff’s office also want the public to know they are installing a brand new sewer system at the jail.