PUEBLO, Colo. — A corroded sewer line in the Pueblo County Jail recently collapsed and spewed sewage into areas of the jail closing some areas temporarily.

The sewage began seeping into the basement of the 40-year-old building earlier this month. It is unknown how long it will take to fix the problem.

Originally, it was thought that only a 20-foot section of the pipe was affected but as crews began to repair they discovered more than 60-feet of pipe was corroded and damaged. Crews began replacing the line last week and found the rusted pipe was cracked and leaking sewage due to corrosion.

“This is another of casualty of an old building with outdated infrastructure,” said Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk M. Taylor. “This pipe is the original that was put in when this building was constructed 40 years ago. It’s no surprise contractors are finding more of the pipe is cracked than originally anticipated.”

The jail’s property section, which is responsible for transporting, housing and releasing inmates, has been temporarily re-located, a holding cell in the intake area has been closed and the public restrooms are out of service. On a daily basis, that area has from 75 to 100 inmates pass through it. The temporary closure means that inmates who are changing in and out of jail-issued clothing must do so in a location farther from the intake area.

“Our property section is critical component to our jail operations,” said Sheriff Taylor. “To have this function temporarily displaced has created an inconvenience for our staff and those incarcerated in our jail. I commend our employees for modifying the day-to-day operations to work around this issue without compromising the safety and security of our staff and the inmates.”

The storage of inmate clothing and supplies also had to be re-located and is operating out of the detention briefing room. Briefings are being held in an administrative area. Additionally, one of the six intake holding cells that is temporarily shuttered resulting in less space available to hold individuals as they are processed in or out of the facility, leading to more crowded conditions in the other holding cells.