A much needed overhaul of the Carbon County Correctional Facility water system control building equipment is being addressed.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners opened the sole bid for the water system control building equipment and piping rehabilitation project at the prison, located on the Broad Mountain in Nesquehoning. Bognet Inc. of Hazleton submitted the only bid of $266,000 for the project.

County Administrator Eloise Ahner and solicitor Daniel Miscavige said that there are some notes on the bid that need to be reviewed.

The board then tabled the bid for one week to review that it meets all bid specifications.

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.

In a related water system matter, the commissioners voted to extend the bid deadline for the second part of the project, the water storage tank project.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said the reason for the extension is after some issues regarding the complexity of the project were sent to the county.

The maintenance project bids will not be due on June 22 and opened on June 25.

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.