Incident
Ms. Zhang, who lives on Liuyuan Road in Shiwan, reported to the journalist:
In her residential building, 7 water meters were stolen during the New Year's holiday, greatly affecting the daily lives of the residents.
According to information from the Water Industry Group, in just the Chancheng District, over 600 water meters were stolen between September and December last year, more than three times the total number stolen throughout 2008! The incidents mainly occurred in areas with scattered buildings such as Liuyuan Road and Sanyougang in Shiwan.
Correspondent Pan Yunfei
The theft of water meters troubles the residents of the housing area
"Thieves are too rampant, they even steal water meters!" Ms. Zhang, who lives on Liuyuan Road in Shiwan, reported that in her residential building, 7 water meters were stolen during the New Year's holiday, significantly impacting the daily lives of the residents.
Ms. Zhang lives in a standalone building where the water meter is installed at the corner of the staircase. On the morning of January 2nd, after waking up and finding no water, she initially thought it was a water outage. However, after waiting until noon, there was still no water. After discussing with her neighbors, she discovered that the original location of the water meter now only had two rows of disconnected pipes, with the water meter gone without a trace!
"The recent theft of water meters has been very severe." According to statistics from Foshan Water Industry Group, in just the Chancheng District, over 600 water meters were stolen between September and December last year, more than three times the total number stolen throughout 2008! The incidents mainly occurred in areas with scattered buildings such as Liuyuan Road and Sanyougang in Shiwan.
To prevent the theft of water meters, some residents in Shiwan have even invented what is called the "toughest" water meter lock. At a residential building near Henanxi Street, the residents have surrounded the connection between the water meter and the pipe with iron sheets and welded the water meters together, like putting on armor. "It costs several hundred yuan to reinstall one!" The resident complained to the journalist that thieves cause significant losses for just a few dollars.
Currently researching non-recyclable water meters
According to relevant officials from the Customer Service Division of Foshan Water Industry Group, previously, only one or two water meters would be stolen, but recently, entire rows (several or dozens) of water meters have been stolen. Most criminals steal the meters to extract the copper parts such as the brass caps and water meter connectors, then sell them as scrap copper to buyers.
"The Water Industry Group is currently working with water meter manufacturers to research and develop a quality-approved water meter with no recycling value." The Water Industry Group reminds that if a citizen's water meter is stolen, please promptly call the customer service hotline 83322114 to install a new water meter to ensure water supply.