Metal-scavenging thieves surprised George Farrant and his neighbors one recent morning.
He woke up at 4:30 a.m. and was able to use his water. But when his wife got up for a 6 a.m. jog, nothing came out of the taps. And the Farrants weren't the only ones.
Baltimore police are investigating the theft of at least 16 water meters Sept. 10 from Briarclift Road in the Hunting Ridge neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore. They were presumably taken for their copper and brass parts.
Around the region, metal objects such as railings, air conditioning parts and manhole covers are often stolen, and law enforcement officials suspect they are sold as scrap.
In one Anne Arundel County case last week, a man with casts on both forearms was arrested after residents interrupted him while he was beneath a vehicle trying to steal the catalytic converter, which contains valuable metals.
But usually only a few dozen water meters are reported stolen each year, said Baltimore public works spokesman Robert Murrow. "It doesn't happen all that often," he said, and to have so many stolen at once is unusual.
The water meters are in underground vaults, usually in front of houses.
Such thefts - of metal parts from air-conditioning units or aluminum ladders or siding from houses - are often tied to the economy, said Cpl. Mike Hill of the Baltimore County police.
"It all varies with the market price for those metals," he said. "We do see fluctuations at different times, and normally these fluctuations are due to the market price of the metal."
A city law requires scrap-metal dealers to keep information about sellers.
Thefts of some items can leave residents in danger.
"Taking a large manhole cover, or even a small one, you're putting people's lives at risk," said public works spokesman Kurt Kocher.
The best defense is to report unusual activity, he said. "If you see somebody who's sitting there, fooling around with a meter, call the police," he said.
Farrant and his neighbors didn't spot the thief who worked their neighborhood. "No one is going to see what's happening unless you try to take a shower," said the retired chemist.
When a public works employee came to repair the problem, he found three stolen meters stashed in the bushes in front of the Farrants' house.
"Who would have thought," Farrant said. "I guess people are desperate."
