HOUSTON – Thieves are accused of repeatedly targeting Kingwood businesses, stealing backflow preventers and leaving property owners with flooded parking lots, broken pipes and repair bills in the thousands.
Surveillance cameras caught the latest theft at a strip center filled with healthcare businesses on Kingwood Executive Drive overnight. Surveillance footage shows a woman and a man in a hoodie approaching the property. The man uses a hammer to break through a protective cage and destroy the equipment before taking off with the backflow preventer, leaving water gushing across the parking lot.
Property manager Lyn Rathgeber says the water ran uncontrolled for seven hours before it could be shut off.
“There are five businesses in that strip center and they all basically had to either close or just not use facilities,” Rathgeber said.
This is the third time someone has stolen the backflow preventer from this property. The first theft occurred in 2024. The second happened just two months ago in May. The property has also been targeted for copper theft.
The damage from the latest incident goes beyond the missing device.
“I’ve also got a crazy water bill to go chase because the way he took it, he broke the pipes coming out of the ground. It’s a two-inch water pipe,” Rathgeber said.
She says her repair bill is estimated at $4,000 to $5,000.
The problem is not isolated to one property. Roughly three miles away, the owner of Swamp Donkeys says thieves stole their backflow preventer last week. Video shows water shooting from a busted pipe at that location as well.
So why are these devices being targeted? Backflow preventers contain brass which metal recyclers say is currently selling for about $2 to $3.50 per pound in Houston. While thieves may pocket only a few dozen dollars in scrap value, property owners are left paying bills in the thousands.
For those unfamiliar with the devices, a backflow preventer is a critical piece of plumbing equipment that keeps contaminated water from mixing with clean drinking water. Removing or damaging one can disrupt water service to an entire building.
Rathgeber says the repeated thefts are exhausting.
“It’s frustrating because we’re paying for it. I have police report, but there’s no follow-through or follow-up because it’s not a million dollars, it’s a small claim. But when you add them all up, the fact that we’ve done it five or six times, now it’s a very large claim,” she said.
Rathgeber says she has asked Houston Police to increase patrols in the area at night and officers are on board. Anyone who recognizes the suspects seen in the surveillance footage is urged to call Houston Police.