Toy Boats Used to Patrol Waterway
July 2, 2012
Byline: Associated Press
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Workers in Rochester’s Water Bureau are playing with expensive toys while on the job, but it’s all part of an effort to protect the city’s reservoirs.
City officials told the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester that the agency bought two remote-controlled boats costing $600 each. Water Bureau workers plan to use the devices to shoo away ducks from Rochester’s reservoirs.
Waterfowl, such as ducks and geese, have been found to have the potential to contaminate drinking water with bacteria that is harmful to humans. The city installed wires over the reservoirs in 2007 to ward off waterfowl. The wires kept the geese away, but not the ducks.
Borrowing an idea used in Boston and Philadelphia, Rochester’s water agency plans to start using miniature boats to discourage ducks from landing on the reservoirs.
