The mayor of Saint-Léonard-d’Aston, a small town south of Quebec City, says thieves recently pumped some 41,000 litres out of the town’s water hydrants into tanker trucks on two separate occasions.
As reported by CBC News, Laurent Marcotte, the mayor of the municipality of Saint-Léonard-d’Aston, says he is less interested in criminal charges for the thefts, and more interested in understanding the motive behind taking the water.
Marcotte, who says the town received an excessive consumption alert during the water heist, noted reports of similar thefts from neighbouring Quebec municipalities Saint-Wenceslas and Sainte-Eulalie.
Most large water trucks can be filled in just 30 minutes.
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Macotte additionally told CBC News that he has some concerns about how the hydrants may have been opened, which could eventually lead to repairs. Sometimes referred to as “hydrant tapping”, improper procedures without the use of a backflow prevention device can also increase the risk of system contamination.
Water theft is not an uncommon occurrence and can sometimes simply be a misunderstanding about which hydrants are permitted for authorized users. Ontario’s Region of Durham, for instance, has placed indicators on several select fire hydrants from which licensed users can take water. The region, however, has also seen dozens of convictions for water theft over the last 15 years. Fines are typically $1,000 per offense and are typically issued to contractors using the water for purposes such as landscaping, dust control, and pressure washing.
In parts of South Los Angeles in California, more than 300 thefts of the actual hydrants occurred in 2024 alone, with thieves selling the iron and brass for scrap metal. Hydrant locks have become more commonly used in the area.
