TAMPA, Fla. — Chances are you've seen the thousands of large blue and red pipes along roads in Tampa. They're known as backflow prevention devices and thieves see them too — as an easy way to steal brass and it could pose a danger before it’s noticed.
Chad Bailey is the chief engineer for the Tampa Water Department. He says backflow prevention devices are fairly simple and have a meter to check for usage which is the prime target.
“A bunch of check valves that prevent water that may be sitting stale inside the building from flowing back into the distribution system going into someone else's house,” he says.
But at least 43 times so far this year in Tampa and throughout Hillsborough County, thieves have stolen the meters and fittings; crimes not discovered until yearly inspections and maintenance.
“If they're careless they could damage it and then there could be no flow,” he says.
Thefts stretch back to January but were discovered near the airport as recently as late August. Days later the water department found more meters missing closer to Town 'N' Country, and in September, several more meters were stolen near Al Lopez Park.
They’re taking the meters for the brass and are selling them for scrap.
“We definitely need to bring awareness to it,” Ashley Partridge, a plumber for Ackerman Plumbing says.
She’s seen brazen thefts of not just the meters but entire backflow prevention assemblies above ground. In January, she responded to an emergency call at a packaging facility near the Hard Rock casino where an assembly was taken, cutting off water to the facility.
“It's a big issue, it's a safety issue for both the homeowner or the building owner and the city,” she says.
It’s not just the potential of contaminating drinking water but the chance it could stop sprinklers from working. The water department told Tampa police but so far no arrests have been made. A spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Water Department confirmed they're seeing thefts too.
“Hillsborough County has anecdotally been made aware that there’s an increase in the thefts of the backflow device,” spokesperson Jose Patino said. “The County owns the water meters. The backflow devices are owned by the commercial property owner, and they are responsible for the backflow device.”
The spike is alarming when compared to the 20 thefts in 2022 and 2023 combined.
Depending on how much of the assembly they take, Partridge says replacing the parts can easily cost thousands of dollars.
“Although we don’t own them,” Patino says. “We recognize that the assemblies are expensive and are sympathetic to someone incurring the costs of having to replace them.”
More of these backflow prevention devices are being installed with new homes meaning many homeowners are now required to get yearly inspections for them.
“More eyes are on it it's going to stop people from taking the backflows and maybe open up the eyes to people that aren't aware the backflows are being taken,” she says.