Columbia prisons maintained regular food, water schedules during flood

Prisons in Columbia boiled water in large industrial cooking pots throughout the flood advisory and kept water coolers in each dormitory, a Department of Corrections spokesperson said.

The department’s Food Services Division oversaw each prison’s efforts and made sure water was boiled to specifications, said Stephanie Givens, director of communications for the department.. When one dormitory had to keep refilling water coolers twice a day, the Food Services Division shipped extra coolers to reduce staff workload.

“It was a herculean effort,” Givens said of the city’s six prisons. “When these types of things happen, we don’t stop working. So our staff goes into sort of overdrive ensuring that everything keeps running. Our inmates were fed on the regular schedule, we had food trucks going out every day, we made sure everyone had clean water.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 4:52 PM.