After protest, Stillwater prison inmates get bottled water; more testing is ordered

A week after a peaceful protest by inmates objecting to conditions including the quality of drinking water, Minnesota corrections officials have changed course and are offering bottled water to inmates at Stillwater prison and have ordered the water tested.

Department of Corrections officials announced Saturday that 51,000 bottle of water had been ordered for inmates and staff at the Stillwater site while more extensive testing is done to determine why the water is murky.

In a news release, the department stated that "monthly and yearly water test results ... have shown that the water ... does not pose a health risk. The test results for the five main types of water contaminants have consistently met or exceeded federal and state water quality requirements."

But corrections spokesman Andy Skoogman also added: "We recognize there are sediments in the well water which can at times affect clarity with a reddish-brown tint. It's important to point out that although the water may be unclear, it has not been deemed unsafe through the routine third-party water testing."

The new testing, to commence this week, will search for iron, rust, manganese and other sediments that could be giving the water an unappealing tinge, the department said. The statement emphasized that no "water illnesses" among staff or inmates have been reported.

Over Labor Day weekend, about 100 inmates staged a protest, refusing to return to their cells, to draw attention to conditions including a lack of air conditioning and a staff shortage that left them with little time outside their cells to shower, call their families and socialize with each other.

Last week, Cathy Stroud-Caldwell, whose son Lincoln is in prison for a 2008 murder conviction, told the Star Tribune she was told water in the cells was rusty and prisoners had been straining it using their socks. "These are human beings," she said.