Carbon County opened a second round of bids Thursday for the Carbon County Correctional Facility water system control building equipment project after bids were rejected during the first round.

On Thursday, the commissioners opened the sole bid for the project at the prison.

Bognet Inc. of Hazleton cast the bid at $256,000. This is the second time the company bid on the project, with its first bid of $266,000 being rejected last month.

The bid was then tabled for one week for review.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said the water flow to the prison will be cut off for 18 days.

The water supply that will be brought in for the project will cost about $90,000.

The project calls for significant work of the water control system at the aging prison, which opened for operation in December 1994.

Over the past few years, the county has had to deal with the system that has leaks, a malfunctioning control system, relays that are obsolete, corroding parts and pumps that have to be manually turned on and off to fill the water tank.

The commissioners also approved a contract with Mid Atlantic Storage Systems Inc. of Washington Court House, Ohio, for the water storage tank project at the prison at a cost of $156,592.

The two projects, once both approved, will run concurrently so that the water only has to be shut off once.

Nothstein said the water tank is in much need of an overhaul because maintenance has not been done routinely and it is starting to give the county problems.

He suggested the prison board and commissioners begin looking at a second tank at the prison so when problems arise, they wouldn’t force the county to truck in water.

Last year, the county had an emergency shutdown of the water system after it lost pressure in the system, which then automatically opened every flush valve in the prison, effectively dumping all the water in the tank down the drain.

In May 2019, an inspection report showed the water system was in bad shape and needed to be addressed.

In a related matter, the commissioners also accepted a proposal from Duane Moyer Well Drilling Inc. of Lehighton to work in conjunction with Cook Geological to complete the required pumping tests on well 2 located near the animal shelter next to the prison.

The amount for the proposal is $16,899.99.