The Bellville Community Policing Forum (CPF) has issued a strong warning following a spate of water meter theft incidents in the area.
The suburbs of Boston, Oakdale and several surrounding areas have been plagued by the theft over the past few months.
Emre Uygun, CPF chairperson, said the theft of water meters has caused damage to the infrastructure in areas.
“When residents come home when their water meter has been stolen, an entire road is flooded with water. It is causing a lot of issues,” he said.
Uygun said the water meters are stolen for the copper that can be found on the inside.
“It is not actually the water meter, there is copper inside. We are also trying to discover if there is a buyer or a scrap dealer buying this from the criminals,” he explained.
The Boston City Improvement District (CID) had previously detained a homeless man for stealing water meters from residents.
According to Uygun, he received a three-year suspended sentence, but he is alleged to be doing it once again.
Daily Voice has seen CCTV footage of the thief removing a water meter outside of a property.
Theft of water meters is a city-wide problem, with about 2 255 meters stolen and replaced between July 2022 and May 2023.
Mayco member for Water and Sanitation councillor Zahid Badroodien said this had cost the City R3.9 million.
He said stealing a water meter from a property causes a 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,” Badroodien said.
Jean Beukman, head of Boston CID said that there might be more people committing the crime.
He said: “There are people who come and steal copper pipes and taps on the outside of properties, but with the Boston CID Public Safety Officers patrolling Boston, that problem is under control.”
byron.lukas@inl.co.za