COLUMBIA, S.C. — Officials say a problem with the water pressure at the Richland County jail that led to some concern from inmates' relatives will soon be fixed.
Phone calls and emails came in to the News19 newsroom from family of detainees at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center about the water there. According to family members of those incarcerated, detainees have had little to no water and were unable to take showers for days.
News19 reached out to the Richland County Public Information Director Beverly Harris, who said the jail has had low water pressure since Monday due to plumbing work underway at the facility. She adds there has been running water the whole time. She said the jail administration has been in contact with several concerned family members of detainees about the situation.
"No detainee is at risk as a result of the jail's plumbing issues," Harris added. "Detainees have accesses to bottled water. The plumbing contractor expects the low presser to be fixed today (Thursday). Additionally, the cooling towers for the air conditioning were shut off for about 30 minutes during the plumbing work. But they are up and running."
Richland County Administrator Leonardo Brown, who went to the facility to check on the situation, said that they bled the lines. He said there are still some areas of low pressure at the facility, but that inmates have been able to have water and flush toilets. He went on to say that inmates who are still in areas of low pressure will be able to shower in a different area.
He also confirmed that after speaking with the officials at the center that they expect to have it working properly by Friday.