Union City Police Searching for Water Thieves
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Water. it is a daily necessity that some residents in Union City are accused of stealing. The city’s utility company said meters are being broken, allowing water to be used without homeowners being charged. “(A) meter reader read one that had been inactive or cut-off for non-payment and showed water usage on it, and when we investigated and looked more into it on the meter, we noticed where it was broken and had been turned on,” said Jason Moss, director of the Union City Water Plant. Authorities said this happens on occasion, but is becoming a bigger problem. People will break the locks put on the meter by the water company, to where the water can still be turned on and continued to be used illegally. Experts said water is one of the cheapest utilities around, and although economic times may be hard, it still costs money to use water. “It cost money to treat it, it costs money to make it safe to drink, we’ve got to pump it out of the ground, run it through our plant,” said Moss. Moss said if the theft and vandalism continues, then eventually water bills will have to rise to cover the costs of the broken meters. One meter, for example, costs $75-100. Residents said it better stop before water bills go up.
