Current Events > Thieves in Hot Springs cause sewage overflow amid attempted theft

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zgIqv1tRso

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. A recent burglary at a Hot Springs water treatment facility led to raw sewage running into Gulpha Gorge near Lake Catherine.

The would-be thief set off alarms on the site of a long-running project that Hot Springs needs to finish to fix a recurring, messy water problem.

We had someone enter a, what's called an air relief valve vault, and it's really tricky to get in, said Bill Burrough, the city manager for the City of Hot Springs.

Late last week, Hot Springs crews made the trek through the woods to the pump station where a thief had gotten in. However, when they arrived, it was a scene of sewage flowing out of the pump.

When they did that, they got a huge surprise, because it's under some intense pressure. So, you know, it had to blow back sewage all over them. [I was] surprised they were able to get out of the vault, Burrough said.

Burrough explained that he was surprised the thief was able to get out of the relief valve vault, where the raw sewage was coming from. While there was damage, he said it was the overflow that caused the most damage.

We're spending over $120 million on this project. It'll probably be over $150 million as we complete it over the past 12 years. We've got about 68 million going on now. And it's really to install new water mains, or wastewater mains, to decrease the amount of overflows that we have that could enter any one of our tributaries, Burrough said.

With the ongoing project that the City of Hot Springs is working on in situations like this, there is still sewage that can run into the bodies of water in the area.

After the discovery of the sewage overflowing, the city took measures to keep water goers protected.

Out of caution, because it did reach a tributary, we went ahead and did what we call a code red, called and notified no swimming in that particular area. Didn't last long, but, you know, it's one that we did issue, because it did, it did have a breach, Burrough said.

However, one question remains. Why did a thief target the valve? Burrough said that it could have been because of the material

We think that they thought that that valve was metal and be able to take that and try to turn that in, but it's actually made out of PVC with some metal holdings. And again, once they kicked that off and realized what it was, they got a pretty big surprise, Burrough said.

Luckily, the city had the materials to fix the valve, which took about two hours to fix. Burrough said that while this incident did not overly impact the wastewater project the city has been working on for over a decade, it's still something that the city is continuing to work on.

Were getting to the end of it and in satisfying our consent administrative decree from a DEQ. So it's something that's very important to us, Burrough said.

The suspect or suspects in the break-in are still unknown at this time.

https://www.thv11.com/article/news/crime/thieves-hot-springs-sewage-overflow-theft/91-e89b6756-83e5-49e3-b7d0-83a234161eb2

Up crap creek without a paddle

what the hell is worth stealing in a water treatment plant?

monkmith posted...

what the hell is worth stealing in a water treatment plant?

Crackheads love stealing copper wonder if there was some copper pipes?

Maybe while planning a heist someone said "we go in, get the shit and get out"
and someone took it literally

BlackScythe0 posted...

Crackheads love stealing copper wonder if there was some copper pipes?

at a treatment station? i'd think it would mostly be plastic pipes. there's likely metal somewhere but there's easier things to steal.

monkmith posted...

at a treatment station? i'd think it would mostly be plastic pipes. there's likely metal somewhere but there's easier things to steal.

I agree but aside from copper I really don't know what they would be after.

How are they sure it was a theif and not just intentional sabotage? Like we've had multiple instances of people trying to sabotage power grids in different states, so I wouldn't rule that out.

NoxObscuras posted...

How are they sure it was a theif and not just intentional sabotage? Like we've had multiple instances of people trying to sabotage power grids in different states, so I wouldn't rule that out.

you're not wrong. honestly they might just call it theft to keep from causing a panic.

The Stinky Bandits

Turd burglars

PoopPotato posted...

The Stinky Bandits

Username and post check out.

AvlButtslam posted...

Turd burglars

Trophy unlocked

Hope they catch the assholes.

I'm in the field and there is nothing in an air release vault that would hold any resale value. That is a nasty environment in which the hydrogen sulfide gases would corrode any metals. Even cracks concrete

This is most likely kids dicking around or the plant is using this 'theft' story to cover up incompetence/ laziness.