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MONTROSE, IOWA -- UPDATED: September 12 at 8:05 a.m.

After just two years, the new Lee County jail is looking at a possible expansion. 

The Sheriff's Department has been dealing with a growing female inmate population over the past year.

Right now the county has to pay for additional inmates to be housed at nearby jails or house females in a male cell block.  However that eliminates men from that cell block, which reduces the bed count even more.

The facility can house up to 14 female inmates, but now there are plans in place to more than double that capacity.

According to Tri-State Public Radio, the Lee County Board of Supervisors has approved a $450 thousand plan to expand the women's cell block. 

Although the plan is approved, no money is budgeted right now for the project.

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ORIGINAL STORY: March 13

There's a slight problem at the Lee County Iowa jail and it's a problem no one expected to happen so soon.

The jail population is getting close to capacity only 18 months after a multi-million dollar expansion. Click here for that original story.

The jail can currently house 92 inmates and last week that number reached 88. That's caused some concern for the sheriff and the jail administrator.

"The jail environment is continually evolving. So it's not unusual at all for the population to increase by 20 or decrease by 20 within a day or a week," Lee County Sheriff Jim Sholl said.

Sholl said the county has seen an increase in the number of women that are incarcerated. He said feasibility studies showed the county would average 12 women in the jail at any given time. That number corresponds with the beds available in the women's cellblock or correctional pod.

But recently the number of women who were in jail went to 14 and when that happens, that causes the jail to be creative in shifting male prisoners to other areas of the jail.

Under Iowa law, female inmates must be separated from male prisoners under what's called "sight and sound separation."

"Our new facility was designed to hold 12 females. We reached that capacity and exceeded it last week. That causes us to use other cell blocks not designed for females. Once you do that, it affects the entire population of the jail," Sholl said.

The sheriff said they also have to be aware of what inmates are placed within the jail itself. He said inmates who are serving regular sentences aren't placed in cell blocks with pre trial offenders. And inmates who are charged with a felony aren't placed with misdemeanor offenders such as simple drug possession or DUI.

Sholl said he's asking the Lee County Board of Supervisors to check the prices on what it would cost the county to expand the women's cell block at the jail. He says the recent expansion project allowed for additional cells to be roughed in for plumbing and electric in the cell block where the women are currently housed.

He said if every cell block was expanded as the plans were designed for, the jail could have a capacity of 144 inmates.