For more than 20 years incarcerated people at California’s Mule Creek Prison have raised concerns about the drinking water.
“The water tastes like chemicals or metal, smells foul and fishlike, and appears dirty brown or foggy,” according to Prison Legal News.
For decades many residents of Mule Creek reported chronic illnesses ranging from liver and kidney problems to various forms of cancer that are linked to contaminated water.
Based on reports from Type Investigations and The Appeal, those who live, work or have paroled from the institution traced the tap water issues back to when the prison first opened.
Built in 1985, Mule Creek includes on-site facilities for meat packing, welding, coffee roasting, and dry cleaning among others.
According to resident sources in the article, untreated water runoff from these industries has poured down the drains for decades, and the problem has only gotten worse.
Due to a series of environmental lawsuits and reports in 2023, a consent decree required California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to repair Mule Creek’s disposal and drainage system.
The plumbing overhaul did not include pipes that carry the facility’s drinking water, which are close to sewer lines and at risk for cross-contamination. The agreement only stipulated plumbing repairs to outflows that leaked into a nearby creek.
A Mule Creek free staff plumber stated that the plumbing system looks like “they took a bunch of spaghetti, just threw it in a hole, and tied the ends in,” noted the article.
According to The Appeal, Mule Creek residents cannot buy bottled water and the prison has continuously dismissed the link between chronic illness and the water supply.
“If you want to live, don’t drink the water,” said Mule Creek resident Mike Cahill, 84, who had a cancerous tumor removed in 2022, to The Appeal.
Many prisons and jails across the United States face similar water quality issues.
Prison Legal News reports that nearly a million incarcerated people draw from sources contaminated with toxic pollutants know as “forever chemicals.” These substances are linked to a multitude of health problems including decreased immunity, thyroid issues, and various forms of cancer.
California’s San Quentin Rehabilitation Center is one of the oldest prisons in the nation. Many residents worry about the quality of the facility’s tap water they must consume.
“The water here always tastes funny,” longtime SQ resident Richard Rivali said after drinking from the fountain. “This prison was built back in the 1800s so I imagine the water flows through some pretty old pipes.”
SQ resident and Plant Operations plumber John James said there are generations of various plumbing systems and materials used to supply the facility’s water. He added that most of the old galvanized pipes, once used inside the prison’s plumbing chases, were replaced with copper lines years ago.
“This place draws water from the county’s main water supply,” said James. “The quality of the water we consume is determined long before it makes it way into the prison.”
According to SQRC’s commissary price list, residents can purchase bottled water.
“When water tastes bad, that can’t be good,” Rivali said. “ A bottle of water from the canteen costs more than I make in a day, so I have to drink what comes out of the faucet no matter what it tastes like.”