By David J. Meister
[This article was originally published at the MeisterArchive.com and appears here with author’s permission]
For years I’d heard rumors about the terrible water at Saguaro Correctional Center (SCC) — the private CoreCivic prison in Eloy, AZ where I was transferred on September 9, 2025. I finally got a taste of it myself. And let me tell you: it’s foul — mineral and chemical notes with a toxic sewage undertone that makes you dread every sip. After heating water in my hotpot for one day, a sugar-packet’s worth of white sediment settled at the bottom. That’s not “mineral taste” — that’s contamination. Wikipedia
After months of bathing in and drinking this water, I can say with certainty it has made me feel worse than I ever have in my life. Fluid avoidance becomes survival: I drink less because the water is so bad. Dehydration, fatigue, worsening pain — I live it daily.
Before SCC my arthritis flared in specific joints. Now? It’s all-consuming pain across most of my body, and the NSAIDs here barely make a dent. Meanwhile, small sensitive sores have developed on my cheek and temple that look like razor burn but don’t heal. I asked other inmates — dozens of them have similar sores and rashes, many with scarring around the face and head.
There is one water filter in the day-room sink for 120 men.
It has not been changed since my arrival (almost four months ago), although other inmates tell me the filter was changed frequently at first.
Unfiltered water is used in food preparation and in every shower.
During lockdowns, inmates have no access to filtered water at all.
Prison officials are indifferent to the problem.
This Isn’t Just My Complaint — Hawaiʻi ACLU Has Documented It
In October 2024, the ACLU of Hawaiʻi sent a demand letter to the Hawaiʻi Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and CoreCivic after multiple incarcerated people reported contaminated, unsafe drinking water at SCC. According to the ACLU: “The water tastes toxic and foul.” One person described it as having a “chlorinated”, “sulfurous taste” and another said it felt “greasy, viscous” with “an awful aftertaste.” They suffer eye irritation, cracked and bleeding skin, gastrointestinal distress, and other physiological problems — symptoms that mirror what I and others here are experiencing. ACLU of Hawaii+1
The ACLU letter not only requests independent water quality testing, but also points out that Saguaro staff have access to bottled water that inmates do not, and that inmates can only buy bottled water at commissary prices nearly three times what it costs outside the prison. ACLU of Hawaii
The group also warned that these conditions may violate:
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- The federal Safe Drinking Water Act,
- Constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment, and
- Federal disability discrimination laws.
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There has been no meaningful action from Idaho or Montana ACLU affiliates or other oversight agencies regarding SCC’s water — Hawaiʻi appears to be the only ACLU actively pushing for accountability.
What This Means for Health & Litigation
Without independent testing, the exact contaminants remain unknown — but the effects are real. Chronic exposure to contaminated water can worsen arthritis, degrade immune function, provoke dermatological conditions, and amplify fatigue. The fact that many of us here suffer similar symptoms tells me this is systemic, not anecdotal.
The cost of independent examination and water remediation will be cheaper than the settlements from future mass-tort litigation. Not just in dollars, but in human suffering — and that’s a cost no one should pay.