Across the Country, Thefts of Storm Grates

On March 30, the Hartford Courant had this bit of news:

A 24-year-old woman is charged with stealing storm grates from rural roads and selling them to a local scrap metal dealer.

On April 28, a similar story, this time in Sterling, where officials found that not only had storm grates been stolen, but the grill from behind the fire house also had been stolen. A month earlier, Sterling’s first selectmen said that seven drain grates had been taken in less than two weeks.

A Google search for “thefts of storm grates” shows that this issue is occurring all over the country:

• In Tampa, FL, the arrest of two men – with grates in the back of their truck – brings the total to 126 grates and manhole covers stolen
• In Roanoke Rapids, VA, one man was charged in early April with stealing 20 storm grates.
• In Falls, PA, a scrap yard owner and his employee are facing criminal charges after allegedly buying 18 stolen storm grates. The story goes on to say that “Scrap metal thefts are at epidemic levels in Bucks County and surrounding communities.”
• New Haven; Wilkes-Barre, PA; Lewiston, ID; ; the list goes on and on.

Sewer grates are heavy. They can cost anywhere from $150 to $200 each. Their value as scrap metal varies, but this is what most of the thefts are about, authorities say.

In some towns, police have put scrappers on the alert for storm grates and manhole covers.

So far, this has not become an issue in Montville - but it certainly offers an insight into the country's economic state.