UPDATED: Fire Hydrant Water Thefts Continue, Can Pose Health Risk

continues to grow in Manassas Park and city officials say stealing water in this way poses a public health risk.

Police arrested two more people in connection with the theft of water, this time from a hydrant on Industry Drive, according to Manassas Park Police reports.

It happened Saturday at 7:35 a.m. on Industry Drive where police say a 1997 Ford Van was attached to a fire hydrant.

A Manassas Park Public Works hydrant meter showed about 260 gallons of water were taken, Manassas Park Police Administrative Services Division Chief Karen Barton said. 

Two Dale City men were arrested and charged with petit larceny in connection with the theft. They were released on summonses and are expected to appear in court on April 26.

Police have arrested five people in a matter of weeks in connection with three water theft cases in Manassas Park.

Not only is stealing water wrong because it is taken without permission, it's wrong because it poses public health risks, officials said. 

If someone attaches a tube to a hydrant and begins using the water to clean out a dirty truck bed, the impurites from the truck bed can flow back into the hydrant if the water pressure in the city suddenly drops, city manager Jim Zumwalt said.

That dirty water is now in the water system, where "your neighbor" can turn on his faucet and pour himself a glass of water and get it out,  he added.

The theft of water from the city's fire hydrants isn't thought to be a major contributing factor to the hundreds of gallons of water escaping per minute from the city's pipes, Zumwalt said.

In April public works director James "Jay" Johnson told city council that some 390 gallons of water per minute are escaping from the city's system.

It has since been determined that pipe leaks are responsible for the missing water, Zumwalt said.

Public works employees fixed many of the leaks and reduce the amount of leaking water, but more work still needs to be done, he said.