The Lake County Sheriff denied allegations of unsanitary conditions in the jail amid social media claims by inmates who reported rough conditions amid a water leak in the Lake County Government Center and the jail late last week.
In a Facebook post Saturday, a Lake County inmate stated that from late Thursday through Friday “the whole jail was without running water.”
“We were unable to flush our toilets, drink water to take medication, or even take showers. Many cells (sic) toilets are filled with feces and urine while others are urinating in the showers for lack of better choices,” the post read in part.
As of Saturday, the toilets and showers were working but the water was undrinkable, the post read. The Facebook post received about 800 shares and over 200 comments, with some commenters stating that their loved ones in the jail also told them about unsanitary water issues.
The Lake County Government Center, which includes the Lake County Sheriff’s Department and Lake County Jail, experienced a leak in its water system which caused a water service outage starting at 3:15 p.m. Friday, said Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez in a statement.
Crews responded to the water leak and restored partial service “to some areas of our buildings” by 4:30 p.m. Friday. Full water service was restored by 8:45 p.m. Friday, Martinez said.
“During this time, we took proactive steps to ensure the safety and well-being of those in our care. We notified all employees. Food service staff at the Lake County Jail were prepared to complement alternative meal options if necessary; however, those measures were not needed due to the brief duration of the outage,” Martinez said in the statement.
Martinez said the reports on social media about the unsanitary conditions in the jail amid the water outage were “inaccurate.”
“Those claims are false. At no time were conditions unsafe for inmates or staff,” Martinez said. “I want to thank the repair crews who worked quickly to resolve this issue and our staff for their professionalism and preparedness throughout the incident.”
Martinez told the Post-Tribune there was a plan to provide inmates with clean drinking water if the disruption lasted longer.
“We put the jail at the top of our priorities for repair out of concern for the health and safety of our inmates. We are grateful repair crews were able to restore water service in the jail in about two hours,” Martinez said.
The Lake County inmate who shared a post Saturday about the unsanitary conditions in the jail posted Sunday that “the higher ranking jail staff” asked him to post again “assuring the public that our conditions have been brought back to satisfactory standards.”
“They fixed the water issue and were able to use the facilities and showers,” the post stated, in part. “We all at the Lake County Jail thank you all for your concerns. Had it not been for you all this issue might had (sic) fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes.”
The Lake County Jail had been under the U.S. Department of Justice oversight from 2010 to 2019 following a 2010 settlement agreement with the department stemming from a civil lawsuit filed in 2007 by inmates claiming inhumane conditions and inadequate health care while the jail was under the administration of former Sheriff Roy Dominguez.
The lawsuit resulted in a settlement agreement containing 92 “compliance targets the jail had to achieve and maintain for 1 year to meet the conditions” of the agreement, Martinez said previously.
Initially, the DOJ found 99 deficiencies in the jail, in particular unsanitary and unsafe living conditions, and systemic violations of the constitutional rights of inmates in regard to medical and mental health care and suicide prevention.
Seven deficiencies, such as mold in the shower area, were taken care of within a few months, so Martinez was tasked with improving the remaining 92 deficiencies, officials said at the time.
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“Getting the jail in full compliance with all provisions of the settlement agreement was a major goal of mine since taking office in September of 2017,” Martinez said in a statement announcing the end of the DOJ oversight.