Thieves carry off air valve on water main; thousands without water

Tens of thousands of people were without pipe borne water in parts of central and south Trinidad Tuesday because of a problem on a main water transmission line.

A media release from the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) said thieves removed an 8-inch air valve from the 54 inch Caroni South Transmission main near Perseverance, Chaguanas.

That main moves 43 million gallons of water daily to 200,000 consumers, many of whom had their service disrupted during the day.

WASA isloated the problem by mid afternoon Tuesday and completed emergency repairs by 8 pm. It said normal supplies to all consumers will be restored Wednesday.

The water authority believes that thieves stole the valve to sell to scrap iron dealers. One official told local media that recently the authority caught two thieves red handed stealing iron pipes.

Police are investigating the theft.