COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Repairs at the Branch County Jail after a major water line break during the New Year’s holiday weekend are expected to cost far less than originally thought.
During Thursday’s Branch County Commissioners work session, Sheriff John Pollack said repairs should be finished in the next week.
County Administrator Bud Norman said right now it looked like the final cost would be under $8,000 which was less than what he was anticipating. He said a lot of the labor was internal which included the help of inmates and that’s why the costs stayed down.
The leak began at about 3:30 p.m. on December 29th, 2017 and eventually affected five cells. Not knowing where the pipe was located at was part of the reason why it wasn’t fixed until 8:30 a.m. on New Year’s Eve.
Workers had to cut out the cell floor and dig at least six feet under the surface before the leak was fixed.
