CUC board steps up crackdown on water theft

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board has unanimously authorized management to work with local and federal law enforcement agencies on procedures aimed at investigating and prosecuting water and utility theft cases.

CUC last Sept. 16 at its board meeting adopted Resolution 2026-011, which empowers CUC management to enter into and revise agreements with law enforcement agencies establishing standard operating procedures for investigating water theft.

CUC legal counsel Michael Ernest told the board that a task force involving CUC, the Office of the Attorney General’s civil and criminal divisions, the Department of Public Safety, and the U.S. Department of Justice has been working on procedures covering suspected water theft involving commercial, residential, and agricultural customers.

“It's signaling that we are willing to cooperate, we will cooperate,” Ernest said, explaining that CUC would help law enforcement obtain evidence needed to pursue cases.

Ernest said the resolution itself does not bind management to a particular agreement and cannot require prosecutors to bring criminal charges.

“Frankly, they're just not prosecuting right now,” Ernest said. “We will help you get the evidence. Please prosecute these cases.”

Ernest said he was aware of one water-theft case that had been successfully prosecuted, while several others were with the Attorney General's Office and being pursued.

CUC executive director Kevin Watson, meanwhile, described several ways water can be obtained without being properly recorded, including tapping into a line before the meter and bypassing the meter to supply a farm or home.

“They can tap into the line before the meter, bypass the meter into their farm or their home,” Watson said.

Watson also discussed customers reversing meters so they run backward or turning their water back on after CUC has disconnected service.

He said CUC's new automatic meter infrastructure should help the utility detect such activity and allow staff to respond more quickly. He said CUC has already installed more than 500 of the new meters.

Watson also discussed customers reversing meters so they run backward or turning their water back on after CUC has disconnected service.

He also discussed strengthening documentation when meters are disconnected and reconnected, including taking photographs that could help establish the condition and reading of a meter at a particular time.

Watson also raised the possibility of imposing a substantially higher administrative penalty for meter tampering as another deterrent.

“What I proposed was $1,500,” he said.

The $1,500 penalty was discussed as a proposal but was not adopted by the board as part of Resolution 2026-011.

Ernest said non-revenue water remains a major concern of U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands designated Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing CUC's compliance with federal stipulated orders.

Resolution 2026-011 instead authorizes CUC management to enter into and revise, as necessary, agreements with law enforcement agencies concerning standard operating procedures for water-theft investigations.

The board approved the resolution without opposition.