Sewer grates stolen for cash

Published 9:46 pm Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Drivers on roads around the country are being advised to be watchful for open sewer drains, where the iron grates have been removed by metal-trading thieves, leaving dangerous gaping holes along roadsides.

This summer, dozens of grates have been lifted from along rural roads in the Pittsburgh, Pa., area alone.

“It seems like it’s in the more rural area,” said Joe Olczak, director of Allegheny County, Pa., Public Works. “We’ve lost 16 along (Pangburn Hollow) road. We’ve replaced them, and they’ve come back and stolen them again.”

The theft of grates and manhole covers has been a growing concern as the economy worsens and the cost of scrap metal rises. Nine grates were stolen in one night in July in Syracuse, N.Y., and 12 were taken in Fall River, Mass., in June. The Canadian town of Ottawa lost 150 in June, 75 of them in one week.

The Philadelphia Water Department reported 2,500 of its sewer grates have been stolen, with a dozen more disappearing every night.

Sewer grates, usually constructed of cast iron, are located along paved roadways to transport surface water into underground storm drains. A typical grate has parallel spaced bars in a grid pattern, with the openings between the bars suited for receiving surface water.

“They weigh around 220 pounds, depending on the size of the grate. Stealing one would probably be a two-man operation,” Olczak said.

Police believe thieves see the grates as money lying in the street, just waiting to be picked up. Unscrupulous scrap metal dealers will pay $10 for one, according to some reports.

Olczak said the local thieves seem to prefer to target the roads less traveled.

“They’re being stolen in the middle of the night, and we don’t get notified for hours,” he said.

The liability for someone injured by falling into or driving across an open drain would be costly, as is the process of replacing the stolen grates, which run about $200 each.