Inmates at Augusta Correctional Center dealing with lack of water, lingering stench
CRAIGSVILLE — On Thursday, inmates at the Augusta Correctional Center were allowed to shower for the first time in days after water at the facility became scarce due to a water leak that impacted Craigsville.
Toilets are starting to work again as well, inmates said.
Inmate Desmond Wright, 47, said he was finally allowed to shower Thursday, but said inmates were being timed and given just five minutes to clean. "They got a timer in the control booth," Wright said by phone. "It's five minutes on the dot."
At meals, each inmate is getting two small pouches of water, he said. "That's it."
Wright said because of the water issue many toilets, which are located in the cells, were going un-flushed. He said inmates were being given one bucket of water each day to pour into their respective toilet to enable them to flush, but he said at times it wasn't enough water to get stool to go down. On Thursday, Wright said the entire prison smelled of urine and feces.
"And this is the same environment that we have to eat our food in," said Wright, who noted inmates are still being told to conserve water.
Toilets began flushing again Thursday afternoon, he said.
Because of the stench and lack of water, Wright said morale inside the prison, which is set to permanently close July 1, is low.
"It is very hostile," he said.
Inmate Brian Smith, 42, said water issues at the prison began Monday around 7 p.m. or so. As the smell inside the facility grew worse, coupled with a batch of warm days, some inmates tried to subdue the funk on their own.
"The best you can do is throw a towel over the toilet," he said.
Smith said most of the inmates are agitated about the situation, but are following orders and pressing on. "We're trying to do the best we can do," he said.
Craigsville remains under a boil water notice issued by the Virginia Health Department, as does the Estaline Valley area. Craigsville Mayor Richard Fox told The News Leader on Thursday morning that a water leak impacting the town was repaired Wednesday, but crews were still trying to find an airlock that was blocking a water line.
The mayor said the water problem might not get resolved until Saturday.
Kyle Gibson, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Corrections, said the prison lost all water supply from Craigsville by early Tuesday. Gibson said the DOC immediately responded by dispatching water tankers to fill the facility’s holding tank, a process that he said is still ongoing.
Gibson said kitchen operations were not significantly impacted by the water outage, and said the prison transitioned to using disposable paper products, such as trays and cups, following the outage. Laundry operations, which take place Mondays and Fridays, were not significantly impacted, he said.
"The water outage caused a temporary disruption to toilet flushing and inmate showers," Gibson said in an email. "All toilets were flushed Tuesday evening with water from the holding tank. Toilets were flushed again Wednesday morning and again Wednesday night."
Water restrictions remain in place at the Augusta Correctional Center, according to Gibson, and the facility will limit showers to every other day until Craigsville’s water supply is fully restored.
Gibson said the DOC is also providing Craigsville with approximately 250 five-gallon bags filled with water, and has offered use of its mobile shower facilities for first responders in the area.
"The agency remains ready to assist community partners as restoration work continues," Gibson said.
Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Lack of water impacts Augusta Correctional Center
