The first alert fell a fortnight ago. Since that date, the 200 inmates of the women’s prison in Rennes no longer have the right to drink drinking water. They are not the only ones concerned. The semi-freedom district where men are detained is also concerned, as are the radicalization management district and the offices of the interregional management of the prison administration. In total, 500 to 600 people were deprived of water at the height of the alert. The reason ? The water has become undrinkable due to the presence of a bacterium, has learned 20 minutesconfirming information from West France.
According to the management, the alert would have been given after exceeding the potability thresholds recorded during tests which are regularly carried out. “There was a little concern. As a precaution, we preferred to prohibit access to drinking water everywhere. Since then, we have been progressing step by step to identify the exact problem, ”explains the management of the penitentiary establishment, which distributed bottles and made water fountains available.
Officials of the almost 150-year-old prison are not worried more than that, aware that the dilapidated pipes are probably the source of this bacterium. To eradicate it, chemical treatments were carried out in the pipes. During this period, showers were also impossible for inmates. The management has not noted any cases of illnesses linked to this bacterium. The water is still not drinkable and it will take several more weeks for the establishment to return to normal operation.