Controls to 1M-gallon water tank found riddled with bullets


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SANTAQUIN — Police are seeking the public’s help to find out who shot the central control system to Santaquin City’s main culinary water supply tank.

Nestled behind the quiet Summit Ridge housing development are rolling hills and wide open space — a "popular place for recreational shooting,” according to Santaquin City police officer Mike Wall.

On Sunday, employees with the city’s Public Works Division were called out to a water crisis behind Summit Ridge, where one of the city’s four 1 million-gallon water tanks sits.

“This is the main culinary water storage reservoir for Santaquin City,” said Wade Eva, Santaquin's public works director.

Public works employees discovered nine bullet holes in the central control system and solar panel of the water tank.

“It took out our automatic controls,” Eva said. “Sunday, when we finally caught it, the tank was about empty. We almost had a lot of people without water.”

“You’re taking 50 percent of Santaquin City," Wall said. "If they can’t have water, that’s a big issue.”

The city estimates it will cost nearly $5,000 to repair the equipment. In the meantime, employees have to manually open the valves to fill the tank and supply water to more than 1,500 customers.

“We have to come check on the tank every two to four hours,” Eva said.

Santaquin City police believe the shots were fired at the control panel around 11 a.m. on Sunday and are asking anyone with information to contact police at 801-754-1070

Wall said investigators retrieved a number of shell casing from a .223 caliber rifle. If the vandals are caught, they could face felony charges.

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