Johnson County inmate clogs toilet, partially floods Sheriff’s Office

IOWA CITY - Officials in Johnson County say a large object flushed down a jail toilet resulted in a small flood at the sheriff's office Tuesday morning.

'An inmate flushed something down the toilet, plugged up the main line,” Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said. 'Sewage then overflowed from a [sheriff's office] toilet.”

Pulkrabek said incidents like this happen pretty regularly at the outdated sheriff's office, which sits directly below the jail.

'We've had several incidents [involving raw sewage],” he said.

Jail staff used fans throughout the morning to dry affected carpet in a hallway and conference room, which will need to be professionally cleaned by an outside contractor.

'This is part of having an old facility, an old design,” said Pulkrabek.

Voters have repeatedly denied attempts by county officials to fund a new jail. County officials are planning on making improvements at the facility, built in 1981, starting this spring, but there are no plans to address plumbing issues.

Pulkrabek said it's not clear if inmates are intentionally clogging toilets to flood the office. The sheriff is also looking into what caused water to drip onto his desk over the weekend.