© 2024 KGOU
News and Music for Oklahoma
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Hominy Water Leak Causing Problems At Northeast Oklahoma Prison

The Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy.
Oklahoma Department of Corrections
The Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy.

Inmates at a northeast Oklahoma prison are dealing with a waterline break that's affecting services. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Terri Watkins says the problem started over the weekend with a water leak on the grounds of the Dick Conner Correction Center in Osage County.

"We got the water restored, then there was a leak inside the community of Hominy,” Watkins said. “So they are working to fix that, but in the meantime, it brought down the water levels in the water tower at the facility, which is used to pressurize the water line."

Watkins said the 1,200 inmates are receiving bottled water as well as buckets with potable water to use to refill toilets after each use.

"We're providing ice to the offenders, and we're able to give them showers kind of in between these water leaks,” Watkins said. “So most of them were able to shower either Sunday or Monday, and we're working to try to restore those showers right now"

Full water service and pressure is expected to be restored by early next week. It’s another infrastructure problem the department faces due to aging facilities, and The Oklahoman’s Graham Lee Brewer reports the DOC’s budget hasn’t been able to keep up with an increasing inmate population, and a prison system that’s at well over 100 percent capacity.

“We've got facilities that are over 100 years old here. We have locks and doors that don't work," Interim Director Joe Allbaugh told The Oklahoman in an interview shortly after he was hired in January. Last week, power went out at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center after lightning struck an on-site transformer. The prison had to run on generators for several days until repairs were made. Watkins said the department is still determining the cost of those repairs.

KGOU relies on voluntary contributions from readers and listeners to further its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. To contribute to our efforts, make your donation online, or contact our Membership department.

Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
More News
Support nonprofit, public service journalism you trust. Give now.