Town's water system trouble extends to Indiana prison

CARLISLE, Ind. (AP) - Some 2,000 inmates were being provided with bottled water at a southwestern Indiana prison after a boil order was issued for the town water system that services the facility, a prison official said Tuesday.

Water was available for showers and toilets at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility but it could be Wednesday before tests clear water from the town of Carlisle for drinking.

The problem started Sunday when a computer system failure occurred at the town's water treatment plant, Carlisle officials said. The water system lost pressure, resulting in a loss of water availability throughout the Sullivan County town about 30 miles south of Terre Haute.

Customers were warned to only drink the water after boiling it until test results confirmed it was safe to drink from the tap, officials said. Those results should be available Wednesday.

Prison inmates would be provided bottled water until the regular water service is cleared, said David Bursten, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Correction. The prison that opened in 1992 is air conditioned, although the cooling system was down this week for one section for repairs unrelated to the water outage, he said.

'œThe water is a city of Carlisle issue,'ť Bursten said. 'œWe're customers of their service just like rest of the city.'ť