Proposed prison water well test shows unable to meet projected needs in Franklin County

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ark. – Test water wells drilled at the site of the planned Franklin County prison show a relatively low output.

The test wells were drilled on July 30 and 31 at the proposed site for the planned 3,000-bed prison. One well has a two-gallons-per-minute

(gpm) output, and the second shows 10 gpm, according to reports filed with the Arkansas Water Well Commission.

A report to the Board of Correction in April showed five gpm and 15 to 16 gpm from the two wells, higher than the current report indicates.

A BOC spokesperson said the April numbers were “verbal preliminary measurements.”

“Until final reports are received, any numbers remain unofficial,” the spokesperson said. “Once we receive those reports, they will be analyzed along with the other information and data we’ve received to determine the next steps.”

The 2,000-bed Arkansas Department of Corrections Tucker Unit has a four-well water system averaging just over 200 gpm for its current 1,009 inmates. The wells have a maximum demand of 219.4 gpm, according to Arkansas Department of Health reporting.

Human Rights Watch maintains that inmates need a bare minimum of nearly 6 gallons per day of water for drinking and hygiene in a 2005 letter to a Virginia prison warden.

Central Arkansas Water, meanwhile, says the average American home uses 260 gallons of water per day. However, this can reach 1,000 gallons per day during peak operation, and can reach 3,000 gallons per day.