On July 23, the Newport City Council decided that an automated laser system is not a suitable means of protecting the largest drinking water source of Aquidneck Island.
The Council refused to apply for seven automated AVIX lasers, which are supposed to displace the animal world and ensure the quality of drinking water in North and South Easton ponds. They did so after concerns about the security of wild animals had been expressed.
According to the city's supply department, which also delivers drinking water for Middletown, parts of Portsmouth and the navy base, especially geese, contribute to possible contamination in the reservoir. A report from 2021 of the Department for Environmental Management by Rhode Island showed that the pond of Easton was “impaired” due to high phosphorus mirrors.
Service director Robert Schultz estimates that a single goose can add two pounds of faeces to the pond every day, which leads to an increased phosphorus, nitrogen and bacteria, including e. coli. Newport enables public access to the top of its reservoir, and according to the city, many people go through the reservoir and add contamination. In the meantime, the city officials have examined opportunities to improve drinking water quality.
Laser technology is a product of Avix Lasers, a branch of the Dutch bird control group. According to the company's website, the lasers for humans and birds are safe, and birds perceive them as physical obstacles. This prevents birds from entering rooms that the lasers can be programmed for protection. The technology can be controlled via the mobile app.
But the living Lois Eberhard, who lives near the pond, said that she was concerned that the lasers would affect all animals, not just birds.
“We could possibly create a kind of” silent spring “in which we actually destroy a valuable ecosystem that Newport has,” she said.
Council member Stephanie Smyth cited a study by Purdue University 2020 in which it was found that “laser exposure can change the visual exploration behavior in the context of food search and influence on feed effort and food consumption rates”.
“In the first week and in the second week after exposure, birds have changed their scan rates depending on the difficulty of the food task,” the study said.
“Although laser exposure did not affect the total amount of food birds used, they increased the minced rates and seed consumption rates both within the first week and within the second week after exposure.”
Although Shultz said the lasers were “human”, he did not deny that some wild animals become collateral damage due to the technology.
“If the main purpose is drinking water, we want to try to be the least intrusive and protective,” he said. “But overall we have to look at it from the point of view of the purpose of the drinking water source and how we can protect it.
The city said that it tried too little or not in vain, including fences, noise and egg oils. Eastons Teich poses unique challenges for the deterrent invasive bird species, namely their flat depth and embankment dam, which laser technology, according to Schultz, makes one of the few possible solutions.
“With most other methods, the result is really not worth the investment,” he said. “There are some boundaries as far as they can use static fences, mounted deterrent or the use of trained dogs. We have tried various applications from chemicals.”
According to Schultz, the lasers would not be visible or in residence and would be monitored by monitoring equipment to prevent public interventions or violations.
“You stick in a way and the pattern that it is really above the water in which the laser would show,” he said.
According to Eberhard, the city should concentrate its efforts to reduce contamination and drain from water from nearby dormitories and companies.
“I don't see that I have to do with problems such as street salt, drain and human wastewater,” she said. “I think these are much more important than the goose -peat problem.”
However, the Council was not convinced of the lasers and submitted an application for an application for the financing of the Rhode Island Water Resources Board in a bound vote. Mayor Charles Holder, deputy chairman Lynn Ceglie and Ellen Pinnock were for it, while Smyth, Xay Khamsyvoravong and David Carlin were against it. Jeanne-Marie Napolitano was absent in the meeting.
In other matters:
• A contract of 300,000 US dollars was unanimously approved with advisory interface studios to support the update of the comprehensive plan 2027, a document that describes the vision and goals of the city that the state has to update every decade. Newport recently updated its comprehensive plan in 2017.
• A new digital utility billing system was unanimously approved. Water customers can no longer personally pay their bill in the town hall. Instead, payments must be made online or by post.
• The Council gave the final approval in order to increase a certain rent registration, non -resident berths and license fees.
• The council approved the expenditure of around 16,000 US dollars at the City Works Corporation in Attleboro, Massachusetts, to install vinyl fences in John Chafee Recreation Area near the new public skate park. According to the city and the city councils, the idea is to prevent those who use the skate park and basketball spots, from parking in the parking lot in private ownership for the nearby office of the East Bay Community Action program.
• A contract of 10,700 US dollars has been approved for Civic Plus, software that, according to the city, has grown considerably in the past two years. The contract has an implementation fee of $ 1,500 and increases by 5 percent annually.
• A construction expectation agreement with the Ministry of Transport of Rhode Island for the installation of traffic improvements, including Poland, to deter parking in the America's Cup Avenue on Bannister's Wharf, was unanimously approved. The America's Cup Avenue is a state street.