Kensico Reservoir, New York
How do you provide clean drinking water to an entire city?
One way to do it is through gravity filtration. New York City's water flows from the Catskill mountains, earning a reputation for natural taste and excellent quality. Without a filtration plant, however, the open air reservoirs are prone to contaminants from both people and wildlife. The latter presents enough of a threat to warrant a special team of wildlife technicians that serve as aquatic scarecrows- if scarecrows were armed with motorboats and fireworks.
One way to do it is through gravity filtration. New York City's water flows from the Catskill mountains, earning a reputation for natural taste and excellent quality. Without a filtration plant, however, the open air reservoirs are prone to contaminants from both people and wildlife. The latter presents enough of a threat to warrant a special team of wildlife technicians that serve as aquatic scarecrows- if scarecrows were armed with motorboats and fireworks.
Driving an airboat (left) and a May-Craft (right) during both cold and hot temperature extremes
Every day, from August to April, sunrise to sunset, wildlife technicians use motorboats and several types of fireworks to deter waterfowl from landing, swimming, and polluting in New York's Kensico and Hillview reservoirs. While fecal contamination is the main concern, the technicians also remove dangerous debris, alert the New York Department of Environmental Protection to potential hazards or threats, and collect water samples to measure water quality. No birds are harmed and endangered species are carefully monitored, especially during nesting season.
As a native New Yorker, I was surprised to find so many species making their home just north of New York City. Some commonly spotted birds include bald eagles, peregrine falcons, common loons (pictured left), great blue herons, and belted kingfishers (pictured bottom left). Mammals are more elusive, but deer, coyotes, mink, squirrels, and even bobcats are known to take a swim every now and then.
Most daily work is done using boats. Some species surveys are done by car and on foot. If the reservoirs ice over, technicians use airboats to access remote parts of the reservoir near intakes that remain liquid all year around. Shining a spotlight into the woods in the dark makes for a nocturnal wildlife scavenger hunt- animals that display eye shine become very easy to find. The next time you order a glass of water at a restaurant, give a thought to how far your water might have travelled and the wildlife technicians who work to keep it clean. |