Reports of contaminated water prompt ACLU to request tests at Arizona prison

Hawaii inmates serving time at a prison in Arizona say the water there is contaminated and unsafe, prompting the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii to demand independent testing of the water.

ACLU Legal Director Wookie Kim said a half-dozen inmates have complained about the water at Saguaro Correctional Center, with some saying the tap water made them sick. Others have reported suffering eye and skin irritation from prison showers. according to the letter sent on Monday. The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and CoreCivic, which operates Saguaro.

“The water has a toxic and unpleasant taste,” the letter states. “One person said it had a ‘chlorinated’ ‘sulphurous taste’, as if it had a ‘chemical cleaning agent’ in it.” Another said the water tasted “heavily chlorinated” and had a “greasy, sticky” feeling that left a “horrible aftertaste” in the back of the throat.”

The letter requests that an independent water quality expert be hired to test the water source serving Saguaro. He also requests that prisoners be provided with bottled water and water filters.

Saguaro Prison in Hawaii houses about 1,000 inmates because there is no room for them in state correctional facilities.

CoreCivic built and operates the water system that serves Saguaro and three other prisons in Eloy, Arizona, and the ACLU letter questions whether the company is in compliance Federal Clean Water Act.

It also claims that Saguaro staff have been told not to drink prison tap water and says the prison provides bottled water to staff.

Inmates can only obtain bottled water by purchasing it from the prison store at prices that are almost three times the cost of water if purchased from a local Arizona retailer, according to the ACLU. letter asks CoreCivic and Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to explain this price difference.

The letter also warns that the prison’s “water practices” may violate constitutional provisions prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment and may amount to discrimination under federal law. Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement that it was in contact with CoreCivic but did not provide further comment Monday. Core Civic did not respond to a request for comment.