Riverhead Town Police are investigating three separate incidents of hydrant tampering in Wading River that have taken place this holiday weekend.
Unknown persons opened fire hydrants, flooding roadways and surrounding areas and clogging storm drains in separate incidents early Thursday morning, Friday night and early Saturday morning, police said in a press release Saturday night.
The first open hydrant, located at the intersection of Hulse Avenue and 10th Street in Wading River was reported to police shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday. Responding officers found the roadway flooded and impassable, police said. The hydrant was closed and the Riverhead Highway Department responded to clear storm drains clogged by the flooding, according to the report.
The second open hydrant was found on Friday night shortly before 11 p.m., located on Sylvan Drive in Wading River. This time, police said, a “makeshift fire hose” was attached to the hydrant and placed in a nearby wooded area, flooding the area. The Wading River Fire Department also responded and closed the fire hydrant, the press release said.
On Saturday at approximately 3:47 a.m., police responded to Bayberry Road in Wading River, for another report of an opened fire hydrant, which had flooded the roadway, storm drains and the yards of nearby residences, police said. This time, the flooding overwhelmed a cesspool at a nearby residence, which in turn caused flooding and considerable damage inside the residence, according to the report.
The Riverhead Police Department Detective Division is assisting with the investigation, which is ongoing at this time, police said in the press release.
“Residents are encouraged to be vigilant in observing any suspicious persons or vehicles near fire hydrants in their respective neighborhoods and if any suspicious activity is observed to please contact the Riverhead Police Department immediately,” police said.
Police are asking anyone with information about these incidents to contact the Riverhead Police Department at (631) 727-4500. All calls will remain confidential, police said.
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