A judge has ordered the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to provide safe drinking water to Pack Unit inmates amid concerns about arsenic levels in the well supply.
The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that U.S. District Judge says Keith Ellison has given the TDCJ 15 days to replace its water supply.
Prison officials and arsenic experts earlier told the judge that the water at the unit in Navasota is safe. The TDCJ will appeal the ruling.
The Pack Unit is a low security facility for elderly and sick inmates. Some inmates who previously sued over no air conditioning in prison also filed the motion challenging the drinking water supply.
The Pack Unit is scheduled to get a new water filtration system in the next year or so.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
