Water leak at State Penitentiary may disrupt operations for a year or two

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) — A burst water line at the aging Nebraska State Penitentiary caused worse damage than originally thought and may disrupt inmate housing for a year or two, state officials said Friday.

The water leak filled a basement mechanical room with 9 feet of water and left behind mud up to 2½ feet deep, according to Nate Bornemeier, engineering administrator at the Nebraska Department of Corrections.

The mechanical room contained the controls for cell doors, heating and cooling systems, and for fire protection and security cameras.  Bornemeier said there’s also concern about mold and foundation damage to a prison housing unit that was flooded.

One to two years

The incident, he said, could take a housing unit at the State Pen that held 135 elderly and medium/maximum security inmates offline for the “next one to two years.”

“That’s how long it could  take to go through all the steps to make the building suitable for occupation again,” Bornemeier said.

Just getting architects and engineers to inspect the damage may take six months, according to Laura Strimple, a Corrections spokeswoman, who added that supply chain issues are likely to delay shipment of replacement equipment.

The leak could add more ammunition to calls by Gov. Pete Ricketts and corrections officials to build a new, 1,500-bed prison to replace the State Pen, which was originally established in 1869 and whose housing units date back to the 1980s.

Cast-iron pipes corroded

The leak was caused by a cast-iron water pipe that had corroded on the bottom, which Bornemeier said has been a recurring problem at the prison.

Thirteen months ago, another leak shut down water service for the entire prison, the state’s oldest, which holds about 1,300 inmates. That came after water main breaks in December 2017 and on two consecutive days in two different places in September 2018.

State documents indicate that prison officials were seeking funds to update the State Pen’s aging and leaking water mains as far back as 2008, according to a state prison watchdog.

Replacement of mains urged

In a 2018 report about the State Pen, Doug Koebernick, the Inspector General for Corrections, urged the agency to come up with a plan to replace the water mains because of recurring breaks.

Replacing the water mains was also recommended by the agency in 2021 at a cost of $1.5 million. At that time, it was estimated that the prison system had $60 million in deferred maintenance needs, including $12.5 million at the Penitentiary.

The newest leak will disrupt plans by state prison officials to open a new, maximum-security wing at the Reception and Treatment Center. The wing is now housing the 135 inmates moved out of the flooded housing unit at the State Pen.

The RTC wing was designed for the state’s most disruptive inmates and was initially expected to be put into operation this summer. But construction delays have left that facility empty, until being utilized for the displaced inmates this week.

Replacement prison cost: $270 million

Deputy Director of Prisons Robert Madsen said that cleaning up and repairing the water damage and inspecting the damaged housing unit will take 140 prison beds offline “for a long period of time.” It will also delay the use of the RTC wing for its intended use, he said.

The Ricketts administration has proposed building a new prison, costing about $270 million, somewhere in the vicinity of Omaha and Lincoln to replace the State Pen.

Critics have said that the prison won’t put a dent into the state’s long-running problem with prison overcrowding and that alternatives to building more cells must be considered.

Final funding of the prison is expected to be debated by the Nebraska Legislature during its 2023 session, which begins in January.

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