Metro to replace brass meters to combat crime in Pretoria North
Thieves target brass water meters for a quick buck in Pretoria North.
The Tshwane metro has resolved to install plastic water meters for new domestic consumers instead of the old brass ones.
This comes after several houses in Pretoria North had their water meters and metal water pipes stolen.
The meters have been stolen in General Beyers and Emily Hobhouse streets.
The impact of this was an extensive loss of clean water.
A PR councillor in Pretoria North Dehan Harmse said the water meter theft is alarming.
He said the brass water meters and valves are vandalised which causes water going to waste until maintenance teams can be reached.
According to Harmse, thieves target the meters in order to make quick money.
“Copper, which is what the old meters are made of, is stolen and sold to scrap metal dealers,” he said.
Harmse said when the theft of cables slowly goes down, another syndicate rises.
He warned people to be cautious and report any suspicious people in the area.
He said the thieves usually steal the meters at night or during load-shedding.
“The thieves use the cover of darkness to commit these crimes and damage infrastructure.”
Water meter thieves will now get a hefty sentence for the crime when convicted as it is damage to essential infrastructure.
The metro said it was aware of this trend of stealing brass water meters.
“The city can only assume that the meters are being stolen for scrap metal value and the copper element,” said metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.
Tshwane is implementing a solution to this problem.
“Plastic water meters for residential consumers and meters with security cover for bulk water meters are a way forward,” Mashigo said.
“In addition, the city has a programme of replacing existing old water meters with plastic meters subject to availability of funds,” he continued.
Bulk water meters come with security cover to guard against theft and vandalism of meter registers.
“Water meters remain the property of the municipality and it is doing what it should to reduce the risk of theft and vandalism to its properties,” he concluded.
Residents are encouraged to report this matter to the police.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
