Pipe dreams: The water problem
The Schuylkill County Municipal Authority (SCMA), under emergency state permits, has been hauling water to Tremont to meet current demand for about 2,000 residents. DHS claims it has done due diligence and believes that the water and sewer system can handle the addition of a 7,500-bed detention facility. What are they smoking?
SCMA provided Representative Meuser's office with a report on the current capacity and limitations of the water and sewer system in the Tremont area. Rep. Meuser will provide the info to DHS. Read the Coal Region Canary article for more details.
"They'll Just Truck the Water In"
If you've been on Facebook recently, you've probably seen comments like "They'll just truck the water in like they're already doing."
Let's do the math.
First, how much water does the facility need? Pennsylvania Code requires 125 gallons of water per bed per day in non-hospital institutional settings. This doesn't include water needed for fire protection, food service, and staff.
7,500 detainees times 125 gallons per day is 937,500 gallons per day. This is double the current total capacity of SCMA's water system.
A typical large tanker truck holds 4,500 gallons. 937,500 gallons divided by 4,500 is 208 full tanker trucks.
208 truckloads of water PER DAY.
That would be one truck every 7 minutes, 24 hours per day. That's ridiculous.
That's more noise, more traffic, more exhaust, and it'll destroy our roads (the roads we paid for with our tax dollars). And who knows where all of this water will magically come from. Towns all over the county have struggled with wells drying up due to frequent droughts.
So, no, the solution isn't a 24/7 convoy of tanker trucks carrying water.
Other reporting from last week
Spotlight PA obtained internal ICE documents that lay out the full scope of what they're calling the "Detention Reengineering Initiative." The plan includes 8 large-scale detention centers (The former Big Lots warehouse will be one of these) and 16 processing centers across the country (the warehouse in Upper Bern Township in Berks County will be one of these). DHS intends to open these facilities by November 30, 2026. This will cost $38.3 billion of our taxpayer dollars. Read the full Spotlight PA report.
The Pottsville Republican Herald covered last Wednesday's commissioners meeting. Chairman Padora read a letter that he sent to our senators, Rep. Meuser, and DHS. The letter outlines many of the predicted impacts of this facility and the current state of the county's emergency, sewer, and water systems. The letter also requests payments and written agreements from the federal government.
During the public comment period, when asked who will undertake the economic impact study, Padora said DHS will. (This is not a good idea. How do we know what to ask the government for if we're not prepared with our own numbers?) For more details, read the Coal Region Canary coverage of the meeting.
What you can do
Call or email the Schuylkill County Commissioners and ask them to commission an independent economic impact study. Don't let the federal government grade its own homework.
- Commissioners' Office: 570-628-1200
- Chair Larry Padora: lpadora@SchuylkillCountyPA.Gov
- Commissioner Boots Hetherington: bhetherington@SchuylkillCountyPA.Gov
- Commissioner Gary Hess: ghess@SchuylkillCountyPA.Gov
Here's a potential script:
"Hi, I'm a Schuylkill County resident calling about the proposed ICE detention facility in Tremont Township. I'm asking the commissioners to commission an independent economic impact study rather than relying on the federal government's assessment. New Hampshire's federal assessment was full of errors. Our county deserves accurate numbers. Thank you."
Attend the next commissioners meeting this Wednesday, February 25 at 10:00 AM at the Schuylkill County Courthouse. Enter at the back of the courthouse.
If you want to give a public comment, you should! People from all over the county have been raising their concerns with the commissioners. It doesn't have to be a speech; it can be a few sentences. Not confident in your writing/speaking? Email us your comment and we can help you make sure you're getting your point across as clearly and effectively as possible.
If you, like most people, work at 10:00 AM on Wednesdays, mark your calendar for a rare, evening commissioners meeting March 11, 2026 - 6:00 PM.
Find allies in this fight. Share this post. Talk to your neighbors about this facility and let them know that it's a terrible deal for us.
Comments, questions, concerns? Email us: info@noskookdetention.com
