Nearly a week after leaks cut off water for about 1,500 inmates at the state prison in Deer Lodge, inmate Bryce Baltezar said things at the facility are dystopian.

“As soon as you hit the door, it smells like [urine] smacking you right in the face,” Baltezar said in a phone interview with Montana Free Press on Tuesday. The smell of human waste, he continued, has become the new normal.

Baltezar said he’s concerned about sanitation and safety for the roughly 90% of the prison’s population affected by the leak. Montana State Prison houses male inmates and had a population of 1,597 as of Wednesday.

Water supply issues at the prison started at 6 a.m. on Oct. 10. The Department of Corrections has since identified several leaks, ultimately prompting a broad water infrastructure overhaul. The d

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