Wynberg ward councillor Carmen Siebritz has raised the alarm on the almost daily theft of water meters in the area.
Siebritz urged residents with any information on the incidents to come forward after three water meters were stolen in Fairways Avenue on Monday.
Siebritz said 12 meters have been reported stolen in this area since the start of August.
“Fairways has seen an increase in water meter theft over a period of three months. It’s an almost daily occurrence.
“A pole is used to knock the meter out of its chamber. Initially, the times were between 6am and 8am, but this (Monday) morning taught us that the perpetrator/s are now operational between 1am and 4am,” Siebritz said.
She added that water meter theft may be seen as petty crime, but it costs the City thousands of rand to replace should the current spiralling trajectory remain.
“It also inconveniences the affected residents because they have to remain without water for hours, noting that the new meter has to be ordered from the City and then only can it be replaced and water turned back on,” Siebritz said.
Mayco member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien said the City no longer installed brass water meters due to their scrap value.
“The City cannot condone the theft of critical infrastructure. We ask residents to please be vigilant and to report these incidents so they 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. The City makes every effort to replace these reported stolen meters in the shortest time frame. The money spent on replacing the meters could have been used elsewhere,” said Badroodien.
Report stolen water metres via:
– SMS 31373 (maximum 160 characters. Standard rates apply)
– Call 0860 103 089
– Visit a City walk-in centre
Cape Times