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Wire thieves target CUC water wells
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Posted on Jan 04 2012
The rampant theft of power drop service lines to the island’s wells is hindering water service to various areas on Saipan, according to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
“The theft has caused three different wells to no longer be able to produce water,” according to operations engineer Travis Spaeth. “The theft of the drop lines prevented the motors from working as they cannot provide power to the motor without the drop lines.”
One well has been vandalized for the eighth time, its drop line stolen by copper wire thieves.
According to Spaeth, two wells in the Obyan area have recently been vandalized. These wells provide water services to San Antonio, Chalan Kanoa, Oleai, and Afetnas areas and affects customers from As Lito all the way to Chalan Laulau.
“With two wells out of production, they lose approximately 100 gallons per minute or 144,000 gallons per day,” he said.
Power drop lines to wells in the Kagman area have also been stolen. These wells provide 72,000 gallons of water per day and services residents in the Papago and San Vicente areas.
In addition to the thefts, CUC also reports that several wells have been out of service due to a two-month delay in receiving replacement parts. The wells that were awaiting parts serve customers in Chalan Laulau, Dandan, San Antonio, Chalan Kanoa, Fina Sisu, and Kannat Tabla.
CUC recently received the parts and started installing replacement units yesterday, Jan. 3. CUC is asking customers to conserve water as it is experiencing poor water service in areas due to system repairs and a numbers of wells out of service.
“CUC would like the public’s assistance on preventing any further theft of cable by reporting any suspicious activities to the [police] or calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 234-7272. CUC apologizes for the reduction in water services and hopes with the help of the public we can prevent situations like these in the future,” a CUC statement said. (CUC)
