California is at it again with the excessive spending and this time it's on bottled water.
The Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy opened a "state-of-the-art" $32 million plant eight years ago to treat brackish well water for its roughly 2,300 inmates and 1,000 employees. However, that system failed last fall and California has spent $417,000 in providing fresh bottled water for the inmates and employees under Central Valley water regulator requirements.
But according to the Sac Bee, officials say the brine concentrator, which removes salts and minerals, is unreliable and difficult to fix.
The state's new budget includes $2 million to plan a better system, which is expected to cost another $32 million by the time it comes into fruition in 2021.
Photo: Getty Images