The City of Cape Town says it has seen a spike in the number of water meters stolen in several suburbs.
In a recently released statement The City of Cape Town has reported a notable increase in the theft of water meters reported across the city over the past eight months. A total of 3 341 incidents have been reported from July 1, last year, to April 30, this year.
This is an increase of 1 143 stolen water meters compared with the entire previous financial year’s figures. The City says it is no longer installing brass water meters, with plastic water meters now the preferred product owing to the scrap value of the brass water meters.
It is no wonder thieves are targeting water meters and valves – the scrap value in the metal is significant
“The brass water meters are being targeted and it will take some time before all meters are replaced with plastic ones,” says City of Cape Town Water and Sanitation MMC Zahid Badroodien.
“The cost for the city to replace a stolen/damaged 15mm water meter is R3 260.60 while the cost for a stolen/damaged 20mm water meter is R3 744.60. The areas hit hardest by the newest spate of thefts include Steenberg, Retreat, Grassy Park, Strand, Athlone, Woodstock, Ottery, Bellville South, Lentegeur, Manenberg and Belgravia.”
“Residents are encouraged to report stolen water meters as soon as possible so it can be replaced to avoid water wastage and reduce inconvenience to the household,” said mayoral committee member for water and sanitation,” said Badroodien.
“We cannot condone the theft of critical infrastructure. We ask residents to please be vigilant and to report these incidents so it can be investigated to clamp down on this reckless, inconsiderate behaviour that has a knock-on effect on residents.”
“Stealing a water meter from a property causes major inconvenience for the affected household as they have no water supply until their meter is replaced. When such incidents occur, the city makes every effort to replace these reported stolen meters in the shortest time frame. Also, the money spent on replacing the meters could have been used elsewhere.”
The reward
A reward of up to R5 000.00 is being offered to any resident who reports incidents or information related to the theft and vandalism of water and sanitation infrastructure that leads to a successful arrest or recovery of stolen equipment.
