Clean water act

Heather Costa can wash her dishes and take a shower now without having to worry that she's ingesting poisons suspected of coming from her neighborhood prison.

Costa lives across a small country road from Mule Creek State Prison. Earlier this year, county officials tested water drawn from the well supplying her house and found cancer-causing volatile organic compounds and nitrates that could be fatal for babies.

She was nine months pregnant.

Officials at the Amador County prison never admitted a link between the pollution and the institution. No conclusive evidence established one, either.

"But it was almost like, if there's a guy standing across the street with a smoking gun, and a person across the street who is lying on the ground, how much do you wait for?" said Richard Subia, the prison's warden. "Because there were some health concerns involved, I didn't want to wait very long."

So Subia got together with county officials and the local water district and decided to pick up the $18,000 tab to get Costa off the well water. About three weeks ago, they finished hooking up her house to the local water system.

Worried to her core, Costa began to breathe easier April 22 when she gave birth to tiny but healthy Gerald Leroy Giuffra IV.

"My baby is fine so far, thank God," Costa said.

Paying for the water hookup is one of Mule Creek prison's first steps to improve its battered standing in the nearby town of Ione and the rural, rolling countryside that surrounds the prison 50 miles east of Sacramento.

Dirty well problems aside, the regional water quality control officials hit the prison with a cease-and-desist order last year to cut the amount of partially treated wastewater it produces. The prison also has been blamed for creating traffic jams on country roads and contributing to overcrowded schools and overloaded criminal justice and social service systems in Amador County.

Neighbors have even complained the prison's lights are ruining the night sky.

Subia, the prison's warden, hopes that helping out the Costa family will improve Mule Creek's relationship with the locals.

"It's my goal to be a good partner with the community, and this is just another way I could show that I'm willing to do what I can to be a good partner in this county," Subia said.

The prison also has moved to come into compliance with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, which also hit Mule Creek with a $50,000 fine in March.

The prison reduced its wastewater discharges by 15 percent in August. It anticipates knocking another 10 percent off the total by January.

To get the reductions, Subia said, the prison installed low-stream shower heads and put meters on toilets to regulate how many times per hour they can be flushed.

Water board officials confirmed that the prison is cleaning up its act.

"They're moving ahead, and they're complying," agency spokesman Steve Rosenbaum said.

Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster said local officials welcome the prison paying for Costa's water hookup and producing less dirty water.

"It's gratifying that they've come on board and that they've been a partner," Forster said. "We are improving the relationship."

But Forster said the only way the prison can get on best terms with the county is to do something about its inmate population.

As of Oct. 31, Mule Creek was jammed to 230 percent of its designed capacity, with 3,664 inmates crowded into space built for 1,594.

"It would be nice if the numbers of inmates could be decreased in the prison – that would help a lot," Forster said. "But I think that's beyond the warden's control."

About the writer:

• Call Andy Furillo, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1141.