Junction is looking for a possible water thief.

The Junction City Police Department is seeking the Public’s assistance in locating and identifying any person that may be involved in the theft of water from the City of Junction.

According to the department, currently the City of Junction City cannot account for approximately 30% of their water usage and has been told by the State of Kansas that the City is exceeding its allotted usage of water and must bring this issue under control or suffer sanctions.

Much of the missing water can be attributed to old inaccurate meters, and leakage but an element of the missing water is thought to be theft by persons who are accessing water from public hydrants throughout the City for construction or agricultural purposes.

There are currently procedures in place for a person to acquire bulk City water legally and to do that you must contact the Customer Service Center for the City of Junction City at 785-238-3103.

Police are asking that any citizen who sees an individual getting water from a City Fire hydrant to call Junction City Police at 785-762-5912 or Crimestoppers at 785-762-TIPS (8477). Those citizens should make every effort to obtain a full and complete description of the vehicle and the tag number to give to Police should the suspect vehicle leave prior to the officers getting there.

The theft of City water is a crime and will be pursued as such through the Courts. It is also a burden for all taxpayers who must bear the responsibility of paying for the water that is stolen through higher water rates.