County jail, Dayton prison cope with water crisis

DAYTON — The water emergency for the city of Dayton and Montgomery County meant that the county jail and a state prison in Dayton had to make adjustments for inmates.

Montgomery County Jail inmates switched to bag lunches and dinner because of the initial precautionary boil water advisory, according to Sheriff Rob Streck.

The jail never lost water pressure and had not experienced a change in water color as of Thursday morning.

Inmates were notified not to drink any of the water, and the jail had about 2,000 bottles available this morning.

Streck said bottles would be distributed about three times a day, equaling 48 ounces of water per inmate per day. Juice and milk were available from the jail kitchen and commissary.

Additional water is expected to be delivered later today.

Jail officials have worked with the Montgomery County Emergency Management Office, the city of Dayton and county water officials.

Streck said the jail did not appear to be in the revised mandatory boil advisory, but officials were being cautious to ensure the safety of staff and inmates.

One of the top 10 largest water users in the system is Dayton Correctional Institution, a state women’s prison with 884 inmates and 257 employees.

State prison system spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said the prison went under a water boil alert as of 6:35 a.m.

“The women were offered showers this morning. However, limited shower access began as of 9:30 a.m. in an effort to help conserve water,” Smith said. “The women can boil water in microwaves for cooking and drinking purposes and a water Cambro with fresh purchased water and paper cups have been placed inside each housing unit. Water is being boiled in food service area for the process of preparing the food.”