Less than two months into 2014, the Coachella Valley Water District is on its way to losing more equipment to metal thieves this year than it did in 2013. On Thursday, the water agency reported that 177 pieces of equipment have been stolen since Jan. 1, along with three unsuccessful attempted thefts. At this rate, [...]
PALM DESERT – Several strip malls in Palm Desert and Indian Wells have been hit by metal plumbing thefts recently, especially. News Video KMIR6 first reported Sunday about 10 businesses hit at Desert Crossing in Palm Desert. Most of the business owners had no water until Monday like La Bella Cucina. “It was a nightmare. [...]
OVIEDO, Fla. — Oviedo police arrested two men accused of stealing dozens of back-flow valves, which protect drinking water from contamination. According to investigators, nearly 80 of the back-flow valves have disappeared in Orange and Seminole counties since April. One victim gave Oviedo police surveillance video, which shows a man loading one of the devices [...]
MAGNOLIA, Ark. (Entergy) — Steal copper, and you might die doing it. If you don’t die, you might go to jail for it. That’s the word that Columbia County Sheriff Mike Loe has for the criminals who think cutting copper off of electrical systems or other sources and selling it as scrap is a viable [...]
Recently there has been a rash of commercial irrigation and domestic water backflow preventers stolen for their scrap metal. While the scrap metal value for the brass and copper contained within these fittings is only about $250, brazen thieves are making short work of stealing as many as they can, sometimes twice from the same [...]
High prices on copper and brass are sparking a local crime spree as would-be metal merchants rip off water meters and backflow devices. Over the weekend Valley Center Municipal Water District customers at several locations were the victims of meter and backflow device theft. On Saturday VC Community Hall was hit. A 3/4 inch meter [...]
During the Month of November approximately 30 Back Flow water valves were stolen from businesses along the Jefferson Ave. and Adams Ave business district. The Suspect would break the back flow valve from the business causing a geyser of water to flow from the business until being detected by a passerby. Many of the businesses [...]
LAUDERHILL, Fla. — Police in Lauderhill and neighboring Lauderdale Lakes said there have been more than two dozen thefts of devices used to direct the flow of water from city pipes into apartment buildings.A total of 28 backflow preventers have been stolen from apartment complexes during the past two weeks, including eight taken from various [...]
A community forum to discuss metal theft was held Thursday night at Pecos Community Center. The theft of non-ferrous metals, those not attracted to magnets, has risen dramatically since 2003, officials said. And the cost to businesses and communities can be heavy. “Metal theft has become a big problem throughout the community, throughout the nation, [...]
A cross-connection is the point at which any unwanted domestic, industrial or institutional water from a customer’s system can flow back into the City’s water distribution system. This unwanted flow is called backflow. Backflow may be caused by numerous conditions; but typically is due to the pressure of the customer’s water system exceeding that of [...]