Vandals are opening hearth hydrants in Aurora and fleeing, inflicting thousands and thousands of gallons of water to be wasted and jeopardizing the hearth division’s potential to do its job.
Aurora Water reported on Twitter Thursday morning that vandals have opened 5 hearth hydrants and left them with water flowing out. The vandalism has launched a minimum of 500,000 gallons of water every time, the tweet stated. For context, an Olympic-sized swimming pool holds about 660,000 gallons of water.
The water division additionally launched movies of 1 vandal opening a hydrant at Mrachek Center College on South Telluride Road in east Aurora. The video exhibits two individuals getting out of a black pickup truck parked in loads.
One particular person, sporting black pants and a black hoodie, leaps over a fence and runs to a fireplace hydrant the place he makes use of a software to activate the hydrant at full drive. The opposite particular person stands close to the pickup to observe.
As soon as the water is blasting, each get again within the truck. The driving force then pulls the pickup in reverse down a driveway in entrance of the college and backs into the water stream for just a few seconds earlier than leaving. About 30 seconds later, the pickup returns once more and this time drives ahead by the spraying water, the video exhibits.
The truck then leaves the college grounds.
In every incident, water has poured from a hydrant for an unknown period of time till a resident or a police officer on patrol discovers it, Aurora Water stated within the tweet. There are not any alarms on hearth hydrants that permit the water or hearth departments know one is working.
The vandalism not solely wastes water however it may trigger injury to the hearth hydrants and to close by water mains, the water division stated.
Authorities say the pickup is a black GMC or Chevrolet crew cab, possible constructed between 1997 and 2008. Anybody with data on the vandals is inspired to name Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.