DAVENPORT, Iowa — Scott County's sheriff gave a tour Friday of the area where recent storms and rain caused water to leak through the roof and into the building of the county's jail.
It's forced temporary lockdowns and several inmates to be moved out, including to jails out of state.
Sheriff Tim Lane gave News 8 a look at the damage from above where he says emergency repairs are needed.
"We could potentially have a real bad problem here," Lane said. "It's still ballooning up a bit. And we're finding areas where it's attached down below is starting to pull up to is a problem."
Lane was able to see a wide view of the problem spots on top of the jail's roof.
"It takes a lot more sandbags than a person would think in order to keep this roof down," Lane said.
The damage was caused by severe weather that rolled through Iowa on March 5.
"When it doesn't stay down to the layer below it, clearly that's when there's a good chance that it's going to tear open and that's where water is going to come in," Lane said.
More than 500 sandbags now sit across the rubber-layer rooftop.
"There's still a lot of water sitting up here that's moving around, " Lane said. "That explains why it may not leak for awhile and then all of a sudden there's a little bit of shifting up here and the water moves and all of a sudden there's a gush of water that goes inside."
Lane said the problem affects more than 120 inmates and around two-dozen were moved to other county jails. It costs around $50,000 a month to house inmates in other jails, not including transportation costs.
"Benton County, Marshall, Clinton, Muscatine and Grant County, Wisconsin," Lane said.
From inside the jail, ceiling tiles were removed, blowers were placed on the floor and trash cans were put under the leaks.
"I hope," Lane said. "That's all I can say. I hope it holds."
Lane said the problem has not impacted inmates' cells, but it has forced lockdowns and closed off recreational rooms.
Officials said it could possibly take until November before repairs are completed on the 15-year-old roof.
The entire project is expected to cost around $570,000 — paid mostly by the county's insurance fund.