A metal drainage grate.More than $11,000 worth of city stormwater and sewer grates has been stolen in Chattanooga over the last two months, city officials said.
"It causes us a lot of problems, and it causes the people who live around them [the drains] a lot of problems," said Justin Holland, the city's sanitation supervisor.
Thirty-eight grates have been stolen since Nov. 1, Holland said. There were nine more taken between July 1 and Nov. 1, he said, but the most problems have occurred in the last two months.
Most grates are being stolen in the Mountain Creek, Brainerd and East Chattanooga areas, officials said, and most probably are being sold to scrap-metal yards.
Holland said the value of each grate is about $305, and the city has spent $11,795 to replace the missing ones.
But the largest concern is public safety, he said. There has been one incident recorded on the city's 311 system of a person who thought they hit a pothole, only to find it was a missing grate.
The grates run along the curbs of city streets and, if they are taken, it creates a dangerous situation because the city does not know about it until someone reports it, Holland said.
"Bikes, pedestrians, vehicles are all affected," he said.
Assistant Police Chief Mike Williams said a case has been opened and investigators are looking into it.
"We were not aware they were having that big of a problem," he said.
BY THE NUMBERS* $11,795: Money the city has spent the last two months replacing stormwater grates* $305: Value of each stormwater grate* 38: Number of stormwater grates stolen* $10: Estimated amount each grate is worth at a metal scrap yardSource: Chattanooga
With the grates costing more than $300 each, it could lead to felony charges of theft of more than $500, Williams said.
Police also will step up patrols in neighborhoods where most of the grates have been stolen, he said.
Tennessee stepped up efforts to regulate metal sales two years ago when criminals began stealing copper and selling it at scrap yards.
Richard Beeland, spokesman for Mayor Ron Littlefield, said many of the thieves might be crossing state lines in efforts to sell the metal where regulations may be more lax.
But criminals are back in the metal business and targeting the city, he said.
"It's happening again," Beeland said.
Contact Cliff Hightower at chightower@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CliffHightower.