Water meter thefts on the rise in Ward 34

IN recent months there has been a spike in the theft of water meters from various areas in Ward 34.

Redhill, Effingham, Avoca, Greenwood Park, Kenville and Sea Cow Lake have been grappling with the increase which has left hundreds of households without water and damaged infrastructure in the area.

Chairperson of the Greenwood Park CPF, Charles Naidoo, said the thefts normally occur in the early hours of the morning.

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“We are trying to find out where the meters are being taken as there is certainly a market for them. The thieves are after the copper pipes on either end of the water meters. The scale of the theft suggests the thieves are selling it for scrap metal and there may be more than one syndicate at play. Several residents who’ve reviewed CCTV footage have seen different suspects cut the water meters within minutes before fleeing on foot.

“Quite often the theft results in the loss of thousands of litres of water and the response time from the City can take even longer exacerbating the problem. In a water scarce country this is extremely worrying. In the long term, perhaps the municipality should roll out water meters with plastic fittings across the eThekwini region,” Naidoo said.

He added the community had also engaged the Greenwood Park SAPS on the increase.

Last month, the eThekwini Municipality said it loses 54% of the water it purchases through illegal connections, theft and vandalism.