Sprinkler systems are being stolen and turned in for metal value, homeowners report

High scrap metal prices have prompted thieves to cut sprinkler system parts off of the systems for cash

DENVER, CO - City landscape crews recently spent the day installing a new sprinkler system to service flower gardens in one of the city parks. As the crews labored under the hot sun installing copper system components, a metal scavenger watched from the sidelines. When he figured the crews’ attention was focused elsewhere, the scavenger moved in and began removing the system, piece by piece loading the metal parts into his truck to take to a local scrap metal buyer.

The parts would fetch 10 times more money this year than in 2007.

The irony of the crime, reports one Denver city worker was that the thief was a landscape contractor who knew better than most thieves how to quickly exhume the metal from underneath the freshly tamped earth all the while appearing to onlookers as someone who was supposed to be working on the system.

He’s now in the big time out at the city jail awaiting trial.

Many homeowners and commercial property managers are finding that their sprinkler system control valves aren’t where they should be this year. Tony Nickerson, who with his wife Marjorie owns and operates A Better Landscape and Sprinkler Company in Denver, Colorado, has discovered more than one system missing at single family residences too this year. Normally that find is on the early end of the season when Nickerson and his crews of landscape and sprinkler experts showed up to perform spring system maintenance.

Thieves are cutting the above ground systems off at the ground and redeeming them for money at scrap metal facilities. The problem, says Nickerson, is plaguing not only homeowners but all citizens as open system parts made of metal are missing from city parks and gardens. His solution for homeowners is to recommend reinstalling the system in a protected space, either in a locked and gated area or by setting the metal housing inside the walls of the residence or garage, out of sight of thieves.

The number of incidences of systems gone missing is on the rise and is happening in neighborhoods all across the city and suburban areas of Denver. The scrap metal thieves scope out their target during daylight hours and show up with saws and shovels at night, working swiftly to cut the metal from its above ground connection, sometimes digging into the ground to access all of the metal components of the system.

“The frustrating part to most owners is that they don’t know the parts are missing until they find their system isn’t operable,” says Nickerson. The problem of missing metal parts is one that first evidenced itself in the construction industry. “In this economy, thieves are going after any metal they can get their hands on and turning it in for cash.”

Nickerson has reinstalled a number of missing sprinkler systems, albeit this time he’s installed them in less-than-obvious locations, like behind a fence versus exposed to plain view. Optimally, the sprinkler control box can be covered over with enough vegetation or insulation that it isn’t a shiny attraction to a passing scavenger, a lot like a shiny piece of aluminum foil can be to a pesky scavenging bird.

If you’ve found your sprinkler system missing parts or missing altogether, contact Nickerson at A Better Landscape and Sprinkler Company for a cost-effective replacement system. A Better Landscape and Sprinkler Company installs sprinkler systems and landscaping including flower gardens and sod. The company also performs weekly and seasonal maintenance for single-family residences, multi-unit housing, retail shops and business centers.

Nickerson can be reached at A Better Landscape and Sprinkler Company at 720-314-5990 or info@abetterlandscapedenver.com