HEISTS AT VALLEY HYDRANTS COUNTY GRAPPLES WITH HOW TO CURB WATER THEFT.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer ACTON - Fire hydrants in Acton have been fitted with locks because people are stealing water - apparently to sell to residents in this parched parch v. parched, parch·ing, parch·es v.tr. 1. To make extremely dry, especially by exposure to heat: The midsummer sun parched the earth. desert community, a county official said. Jim Noyes, head of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) is responsible for the construction and operation of Los Angeles County's roads, building safety, sewerage, and flood control. , told the Board of Supervisors this week that water thefts have accounted for the bulk of a 20 percent loss of the local water supply in the last four or five years. Leakage and maintenance results in a 3 to 5 percent loss each year. ``It's being stolen by individuals who are then using that water and selling it to people in the area who are relying on hauled water to meet their domestic supplies,'' Noyes told supervisors, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a transcript of the April 13 supervisors' meeting. Public works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. officials reported the thefts to the county Sheriff's Department and even handed over photographs and license plate numbers of possible suspects, Noyes told the board. Sheriff's investigators have turned over their information to the District Attorney's Office. Neither of those agencies returned calls Friday to the Daily News. Some private wells have been running dry in recent years in the region, perched in the mountains between the Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, and Antelope Valleys This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley . Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the county water district serving the community shut down its highest-producing well without warning after tests showed elevated nitrate concentrations, Noyes noted in an April 1 memo to supervisors. To help cover the losses and to increase the local water supply, the Board of Supervisors appropriated $148,000 this week from a contingency fund to county Waterworks waterworks: see water supply. District No. 37 for the purchase of state water from the Antelope Valley-East Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. Water Agency. Meanwhile, the water thefts have continued as plastic locks have been broken off some hydrants. ``They're fairly easy to break, and although they seem to have (been) maybe a minor deterrent, they've not solved the problem of what we think is significant theft,'' Noyes told the board. Public works officials are reluctant to apply stronger metal locks because they could impede firefighters in an area of high brush fire danger, Noyes said. Supervisors directed representatives of the public works, sheriff's and fire departments to come up with a solution and report back to the board at a later date. Patricia Farrell Aidem, (661) 257-5251 pat.aidem(at)dailynews.com |
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