LOMPOC, Calif. – There was a disruption to the main water supply at the Federal Correctional Complex in Lompoc last week.
Your News Channel started looking into claims that there was no water for drinking or bathing for inmates at the federal facility on Thursday, May 22 after a tipline email was received about the conditions for people incarcerated there.
Phone calls and emails were sent to both Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc (FCC Lompoc) and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons regarding the potentially ongoing situation.
According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in an email sent to Your News Channel almost a week later on Wednesday, May 28, water at FCC Lompoc was disrupted between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on May 21, but was restored that night.
The Bureau of Prisons noted that every facility -including employee housing- at the sprawling penitentiary were impacted by the issue, but added, "No other disruptions to the water supply have occurred at FCC Lompoc since."
Water access complaints at the federal correctional complex are not new.
In October of 2023, Your News Channel detailed that a water main rupture had resulted in intermittent shut offs of water for inmates.
At the time, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons told Your News Channel that potable -or safe to drink- water was made available to those incarcerated on site and that staff were conducting town hall-style briefings to inform inmates about the situation.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons added that all federal correctional facilities have contingency plans for incidents that impact the health and safety of inmates, but declined to specify those plans citing safety and security reasons.
Tipsters shared that inmates were unable to drink water, shower, and asked to not flush their toilets for multiple days.
In response, Your News Channel filed a formal request through the Freedom of Information Act for water, electricity, sewage, and natural gas supply information to the facility between October and November of 2023
Each of those utilities are internally managed by the federal facility and subject to federal oversight laws Your News Channel confirmed.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons characterized that request as notably burdensome stating, "We determined unusual circumstances exist as the documents responsive to your request must be searched for and collected from a field office, and/or the documents responsive to your request are expected to be voluminous and will require significant time to review."
The request was eventually fulfilled in March of 2024.
According to the provided documents, FCC Lompoc did have a substantially lower flow of water in October of 2023 compared to the recorded flow for the next month as well as reduced demand for gas, but slightly larger waste water outflows for October compared to November.
While lower water and sewage flows could be tied to intermittent restrictions on water use, the rupturing of a water main would certainly impact the amount of water available, making it difficult to independently determine how long water and bathroom use restrictions were in place and how severe they were.
The provided documents did reveal that the correctional complex had purchased water and electricity from nearby Vandenberg Space Force Base in October and November with a dramatic increase in the cost for both.
Additionally, the penitentiary purchased natural gas from Tiger Natural Gas based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma in October and November of 2023.
Regardless of the extent, the water main rupture in late October 2023 absolutely impacted the lives of those incarcerated at FCC Lompoc and tips from the public played an important role in attempts to verify just how impactful it was.
Water access briefly limited across Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc News Channel 3-12.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Water access briefly limited across Federal Correctional Complex Lompoc )
Also on site :
- Chipotle is Giving Away Free Burritos for An Entire Year—Here's How to Win
- 'Top Chef' Season 22 Episode 12 Elimination Results: Who Was Sent Home This Week?
- Is Ashley Leaving 'The Young and the Restless'?