Residents on the west coast of South Australia say caravanners are stealing water from their towns' water supplies.
Elliston Football Club president Craig Penna said water had been stolen from his footy club and the town's sports centre.
"We are having a lot of water stolen by caravanners who are going around needing to fill their water tanks and this is water that we have harvested for use in our footy change rooms and kitchens," Mr Penna said.
Mr Penna said it was hard to tell how much water had been stolen but he believed it to be more than 1,000 litres in the past year.
The football club has removed its taps to try to stop people stealing its water, but Mr Penna said thieves were still finding a way to drain its supply.
"I've had phone calls from people saying they've seen three or four caravans and RVs pull up at the club helping themselves to water," he said.
Waterloo Bay Tourist Park co-owner Maryann Van Dyk said her business was too busy to allow passing travellers to drop in and fill up with water.
"We have signs saying we are an RV friendly town here in Elliston, but it's not friendly to them at the moment if they can't come in and fill up with water," she said.
Streaky Bay District Council chief executive Damian Carter said it had been an ongoing issue as travellers had made their way to the region since the COVID pandemic.
He said travellers were also topping up their water supplies at cemeteries and the RSL.
He said there was a recent incident in Perlubie during which people broke into and stole water from a tank designed to supply the town's public toilets, leaving the council to repair and refill the tank for use.
"There is a core group of people who believe they shouldn't have to pay for anything, they believe their expenditure in the township pays for them visiting and having free campsites," Mr Carter said.
Streaky Bay Council provides a water top up point, offering people ten litres of water for $1.
It has budgeted for an additional water point this financial year.
Police encourage people to contact Crime Stoppers if they see water being stolen.
