The director of the Iowa Department of Corrections says damage to the state prison for women from a leak in a geothermal heat system is estimated at $200,000.

Jerry Bartruff says the incident on Saturday at the facility in Mitchellville forced the evacuation of nearly 230 inmates. “We had to move 227 women from the housing units affected to alternate tent housing in the gym,” Bartruff said.

The housing unit was left without heat and the outside temperature on Saturday dropped to 25 degrees. “The women and the staff responded very appropriately. There were no incidents, people did get a little crabby on occasion, but we made a bad situation not so bad,” Bartruff said. The leak has been cleaned up and repairs are expected to be complete by Friday or Saturday.

Bartruff made his comments at a meeting of the Iowa Board of Corrections today in Des Moines.