New Orleans jail experiencing flooding and plumbing issues | Crime/Police

After the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office acknowledged water leaks and shut-offs at the jail over Memorial Day weekend, the sheriff said Wednesday that the lockup continues to experience “significant flooding” and “ongoing and severe plumbing failures.” 

The Orleans Justice Center and Sheriff Susan Hutson have been at the center of controversy following the May 16 jailbreak where 10 inmates escaped after a maintenance worker allegedly shut off water to a pod and a pipe to a toilet was cut. 

Despite emergency plumbing repairs over the weekend, Hutson said in a statement that water is continuing to accumulate in parts of the 9-year-old lockup. The statement did not say what parts of the jail had taken on water, what aspects of jail operations were affected or whether any inmates were relocated. Follow up questions posed to the jail, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s office and the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board went unanswered Wednesday.

Hutson said the lockup has long had plumbing issues that create a public safety risk and that there is a “critical need for immediate and sustained infrastructure investment.

In the meantime, the sheriff’s office is working to bring in an external water supply to address the issue, the statement said. 

Hutson, who has temporarily suspended her campaign for reelection, also repeated recent claims that the jail building has had longstanding issues. The Orleans Justice Center opened in September 2015, a glistening $150 million facility that replaced older jail structures that were outdated or severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The 433,409-square-foot facility was paid for largely with FEMA disaster aid, and was touted by former Sheriff Marlin Gusman as state of the art. 

“These recurring plumbing issues highlight a much deeper infrastructure crisis at OJC, rooted in years of deferred maintenance, chronic overcrowding, and a lack of meaningful investment,” Hutson said in a statement. “This is not just a facilities problem. It’s a public safety issue, a staffing issue, and most of all, a human dignity issue.” 

Responding to Hutson’s statement Wednesday, City Council President JP Morrell questioned whether Hutson was using the flooding emergency to squeeze the council for more money, when the Sheriff’s Office has millions of dollars at its disposal – although the actual amount is in dispute.

The sheriff’s most recent annual audit showed the agency has a nearly $15 million unreserved fund balance, but Hutson’s office says it only has $6 million.

“They have the most recently built city building in the city of New Orleans. You cannot complain about the age of your facility when we have people in DPW still in FEMA trailers,” Morrell said.

Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission, Inc., said when damage occurs, whether due to malice or deferred maintenance, it’s the sheriff’s responsibility to assess the situation and coordinate necessary repairs.

“Inmates try and damage the operations of the jail, whether it be plumbing, doors—anything,” Goyeneche said. “That is an ongoing problem in every jail facility in this country. That’s why security is so important. Any inmates that are damaging property need to be arrested.”

Misuse of the plumbing systems, such as the flushing of inappropriate items down toilets, has worsened the flooding, the sheriff’s statement said.

A lawyer for Sterling Williams, the jail maintenance worker accused of shutting off the water for a cell toilet to aid the jailbreak, claims the inmates clogged the toilet to force Williams to shut off the water. 

Hutson also referenced the infrastructure needs as hurricane season threatens.

“If a major storm strikes New Orleans in the coming months, the jail’s current condition could severely impair evacuation efforts, continuity of operations, and broader public safety coordination,” the sheriff’s office statement said.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, there were reports from social media and the families of inmates that people in the jail were going without showers or sleeping next to toilets piled with urine and feces.

On Monday, the sheriff’s office released a statement saying the “serious plumbing issues” only resulted in a few temporary shut-offs and denied extended outages. 

Missy Wilkinson contributed to this report.