JACKSON TOWNSHIP

Someone stole $25,782 worth of sewer equipment from the Lake Latonka Authority, Jackson Township, state police said.

Thieves took sewage holding tanks, grinder pumps, alarm boxes and various fittings between May 1 and July 27 during the development stage of the community's sewage facility, police said.

Joan Saeler, sewage secretary for the authority, said holding tanks stand between 10 and 12 feet tall and would have to be moved by trailer or pickup.

The holding tanks, which are buried and connected to homes, hold and protect grinder pumps, which are used to grind up water from homes and transfer sewage into a main line, she said. The grinder pumps are connected to alarm boxes, which were also stolen. Alarm boxes alert homeowners with a red light if something is wrong with their sewage, she said.

She said the holding tanks aren't extremely heavy, but they are bulky.

The authority charged Lake Latonka Association homeowners an associated fee for the sewage equipment. Homeowners hired individual contractors to install their materials at their homes.

State police Lt. Frances Grolemund said the equipment was being held at a separate storage area outside the sewage plant where contractors had access.

Latonka sewage workers discovered that the equipment inventory was dwindling faster than homeowners were receiving their installations, Ms. Saeler said.

State police aren't sure who would have stolen the equipment.

"There are many potential scenarios and we're just beginning our investigation. We don't have answers yet," Grolemund said.

The missing equipment hasn't yet been replaced.