Plumbing, sewage and COVID-19 disrupt jail operations

Plumbing issues, sewage leaks, and COVID-19 cases are hampering Tuolumne County’s newly operative, state-of-the-art $51 million jail, known as the Sheriff J.H. “Jack” Dambacher Detention Center.

“I’m being told that this happens everywhere, but it does create some frustration on my end,” Tuolumne County Sheriff Bill Pooley said of the plumbing and sewage issues on Monday. “Obviously when you move into a new building you want it to work perfectly. We’ve had a number of issues with the new building, but the good thing is everything is getting fixed.”

The Sheriff’s Office also announced over the weekend that two additional inmates tested positive for COVID-19, approximately two weeks after seven cases at the jail were reported. The seven inmates who previously tested positive have recovered and returned to their cohorts, or living designations within the jail.

Pooley said there were no additional cases to report as of Monday morning,

“We’re testing on a regular basis, but we haven’t got results indicating anyone else is positive,” he said.

The two new cases remain under isolation and in quarantine. Pooley said four additional inmates who were in contact with them also remain in isolation, though at this time they have not tested positive.

Office of Emergency Services Coordinator Dore Bietz said officials were unsure where the COVID-19 exposure may have originated for the nine cases identified at the jail. The Sheriff’s Office said it was made aware of the two new cases on Saturday.

Aside from COVID-19 cases, inmates and their family members have contacted The Union Democrat in recent weeks to reveal what they refer to as “cruel and unusual punishment, deprivation and neglect” due to incidents involving overflowing sewage, a lack of hot bathing water and sluggish mail delivery.

The Sheriff’s Office moved all 105 inmates in custody at the former 147-bed jail on Yaney Avenue in downtown Sonora to the new facility at the Law and Justice Center off

Old Wards Ferry in Sonora.

The new jail was touted as more modern and humane than the previous facility, which was completed in 1960. In recent years, the former Tuolumne County Jail was pilloried by civil grand juries and state corrections officials as outdated, deteriorating, cramped, and a safety risk for staff and inmates.

An inmate who contacted The Union Democrat said the jail had not had any hot water since the move, though Pooley described it as “intermittent.”

Pooley said officials were at the jail in the previous week to troubleshoot the issue and deduced that when hot water was being used in facilities such as the kitchen or the washroom, the temperature of the showers could be reduced.

Water temperatures taken Monday by correctional officers on individual showers varied, Pooley said. While some ranged from 107 degrees to 115 degrees, others hovered between 82 degrees and 92 degrees, and some were as low as 60 degrees to 70 degrees.

“We’re turning everything on and we’re finding we’re not having enough hot water,” Pooley said.

It was not until Monday that plumbers and construction officials contacted by the Sheriff’s Office determined that there was likely air in “high spots” in the plumbing lines which was restricting the flow of hot water.

On Tuesday, they plan to freeze the pipes to create a stopper and vent the top portion of the plumbing to let out the air.

“That will hopefully rectify the problem,” Pooley said, adding that he hoped the hot water issue would be fixed by the end of the week at the latest.

Pooley also confirmed a sewage leak occurred inside the facility two weeks ago and was believed to be caused by construction debris found inside pipes when the sewage was flushed out. He said there was another sewage leak outside the jail on the south side of the building caused by inmates attempting to flush a sheet down a toilet.

One door in the jail also needs to be fixed, Pooley said, because it says it is open when it is actually closed. Parts have been procured to fix the door.

“These kinds of things happened at our old facility. We’re always going to have those types of issues,” he said of the inmate-caused sewage leak and a broken window caused by an inmate.

The inmate who contacted The Union Democrat provided a list of “inmate witnesses” he said could corroborate his story and claimed he has contacted federal agencies to lodge official complaints.

“We’re an open book as far as that goes,” Pooley said. “We’re working on it. We’re not trying to hide anything … None of this is intentional on our part. Any characterization of that is absolutely false. We want to get the problem fixed. We want them to be able to have hot showers ... I empathize with them for that, and we are trying to get it fixed.”

Patricia Miller, of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, also sent The Union Democrat a letter to the editor describing mail delivery as a “joke” because a package of books she sent to her grandson, an inmate, was returned to the Sonora Post Office on Feb. 4. She said in the letter he received the package on Friday, but decried the detours correspondence took before delivery.

Pooley said the office talked to her last week and when they learned she was having issues, a deputy picked up the package from the post office to ensure delivery.

Pooley said the county surveyor said the new jail had to confirm a newly formed address, and the change was codified on Thursday, which should solve any possible delays. Previously, deputies were picking up mail from postal facilities before distributing to inmates, while outbound mail was brought to the Sheriff’s Office and distributed.

A mother of an inmate also previously contacted The Union Democrat to express concerns about the jail’s protocols to protect from the spread of COVID-19.

Sheriff’s Deputy Niccoli Sandellin said at the time that the jail had used the same procedures since the beginning of the pandemic, including pre-screening for staff and inmates, quarantining the sick, daily sterilizations with UV technology. Testing is conducted by the county Public Health Department to identify and isolate any new cases.

The Sheriff’s Office has received calls with concern about the testing processes for inmates, though he said those with questions were satisfied with the protocols.

The only other reports of COVID-19 in county jail facilities were in July for three inmates and one staff member at the old jail.

Pooley referred to a Sheriff’s Office Facebook release and said anyone with questions or concerns on COVID-19 protocols could contact Sandelin at (209) 533-5857 or Sgt. Chris Hurtado at (209) 533-7201.

Pooley also said inmates can request COVID-19 tests through deputies or medical staff, though it would not be expected they do unless they had symptoms or were in contact with anyone who was positive.

Pooley said the jail was separated by an internal body and pods that “mirrored” each other on opposite sides.

“It’s like being in a different home essentially,” he said. “The ones that we have tested are the ones that have come in contact with the ones who are positive.”

Sandelin previously said it was difficult to determine exactly how the virus got inside because of how widespread it is throughout the community, with some new inmates being asymptomatic carriers.