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Sprinkler Thefts A Growing Problem

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 2007

Updated: 11/27/2007 09:11 am

PLANT CITY - For weeks now, the delicate seedlings have been arriving from Canada.

They come packed in foam coolers and quickly are plugged into the plastic-covered beds that blanket thousands of acres in eastern Hillsborough County.

The sprinklers have been working overtime to keep the young plants moist and cool, splashing great arcs of water across the fields throughout the day.

This year is different, though: Someone has been stealing thousands of sprinkler heads right out of the fields. Bo Dunlap, manager of James Irrigation, has been selling replacements to growers as fast as he can get them.

To date, Dunlap has sold more than 10,000 sprinkler heads in 2007 - nearly double last year's numbers.

The growers pay as much as $20 for a brass sprinkler the thieves unload as scrap metal at $1.50 a pound.

Soaring prices for copper, brass and other metals spawned widespread theft of construction materials, air conditioners and irrigation systems that are being dismantled in the midst of berry season.

Jan Hollingsworth

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