An organization in Texas has sparked concerns with a new report finding that the water in many of the state’s prisons is likely dangerous to drink. Texas Prisons Community Advocates (TPCA) is a grassroots advocacy organization whose work (like their 85 to Stay Alive campaign) focuses on exposing dangerous and inhumane prison conditions, such as widespread water contamination. Their new report examines the results of water samples taken from the state’s prisons by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the state’s agency for environmental oversight. TPCA examined publicly available records of samples that were taken across 16 Texas prison water systems between 2019 and 2023. Overall, dangerous metallic and bacterial contaminants including lead, arsenic, e. coli, and more were detected in more than 90 samples. Thanks to this report, a bill (SB 1929) has already been introduced in the Texas legislature that would require more frequent and thorough water testing in Texas prisons.

The study was spurred by dozens of letters TPCA have received from incarcerated people detailing unaddressed concerns and suspicious illnesses, likely due to widespread water contamination. The major findings of the report include that:

  • 38% of TDCJ water systems sampled tested positive for lead.
  • Arsenic, which can cause skin, bladder, and lung cancer, as well as Copper, Coliform, and E. Coli were also found in multiple TDCJ water systems across the state.
  • Of the 16 TDCJ water systems sampled, 15 received notes of violations from the TCEQ between 2019 and 2023.
  • Overall, the study estimates more than 30,000 incarcerated people may have been affected by contaminated water in the 16 TDCJ water systems sampled alone.

The findings here echo those of other studies and reinforce what advocacy groups like Fight Toxic Prisons have long been saying: Prisons are built in ways that prioritize confinement over environmental safety for the people they confine. Water contamination in prisons is particularly problematic as incarcerated people rarely have the means to follow boil orders and are often given insufficient amounts of water during crises. Bottled water can be unavailable or cost-prohibitive. This can leave many with no choice but to drink, prepare food with, and bathe in water with contaminants that can cause cancer, kidney and liver failure, and death. Last year, in recognition of the right of people in prisons to be free from environmentally hazardous conditions, members of Congress introduced the Environmental Health in Prisons Act, a bill that would offer greater protections, increase oversight, and improve conditions for federal prisoners.

Read the full article about widespread water contamination in prisons by Emmett Sanders at Prison Policy Initiative.