As
the
weather
warmed
and
spring
came
into
full
bloom,
the
Passaic
Valley
Sewerage
Commissioners
(PVSC)
began
the
fulltime
operation
of
the
50-foot
TrashCat™
skimmer
boat,
the
SV
Newark
Bay.
Five
days
a
week
the
SV
Newark
Bay
travels
up
and
down
the
Passaic
River
picking
up
branches,
logs,
bottles,
cans,
and
the
occasional
shopping
cart
from
the
river's
surface.
TrashCat™
clearing
debris
on
the
Passaic
River
"We
can
already
see
a
noticeable
difference
in
the
amount
of
debris
in
the
river,"
stated
Tom
Curry,
member
of
the
Nereid
Boat
Club,
"There
is
definitely
a
reduction
in
the
amount
of
vegetation
and
trash,
and
it
is
clearly
linked
to
the
effectiveness
of
the
skimmer
boat.
The
amount
of
trash
and
debris
in
the
Passaic
River
can
make
rowing
difficult
and
even
dangerous,
as
the
hull
of
the
rowing
shell
is
very
delicate
and
easily
damaged."
SV
Newark
Bay's
Three-Man
Crew
Skimming
the
Waters
The
skimmer
boat,
designed
and
built
by
United
Marine
International,
is
operated
by
a
three-man
crew
of
PVSC
employees.
One
crewman
drives
the
boat
while
the
other
two
look
for
floating
trash
on
the
river
and
keep
the
26
cubic
yard
holding
area
and
cargo
doors
free
from
collected
debris.
The
boat
has
a
single
engine
that
provides
power
to
two
propellers,
one
located
at
the
rear
of
each
pontoon.
This
design
allows
the
skimmer
boat
great
flexibility
of
movement.
Similar
to
a
bulldozer,
the
boat
can
move
forward
and
backwards
and
rotate
in
either
direction
360
degrees.
The
cargo
holding
area
and
hydraulic
cargo
doors
are
designed
with
a
conveyor
that
enables
the
skimmer
boat
to
pull
floatables
in
from
the
river.
The
maneuverability
of
the
boat
and
cargo
doors
allow
the
crew
to
get
into
hard-to-reach
spots,
such
as
pulling
right
up
alongside
a
bulkhead.
Depending
on
tides
and
recent
rainfall,
the
amount
of
debris
on
the
Passaic
River
can
vary
greatly.
Some
days
there
is
a
substantial
amount
of
vegetation
and
floatables
in
the
river
that
has
been
drawn
together
and
is
easily
collected
and
removed.
On
other
days
the
crew
must
aggressively
search
for
debris
that
are
strewn
throughout
the
river
as
individual
items
to
fill
the
holding
area.
SV
Newark
Bay
shown
docked
at
PVSC's
plant
Currently,
the
boat
is
docked
in
Newark
Bay
at
the
PVSC
plant
where
the
collected
debris
are
removed
into
a
dumpster.
To
increase
efficiency,
PVSC
has
begun
experimenting
with
the
use
of
a
mobile
shoreline
conveyor
system
to
offload
the
skimmer
boat
at
various
locations
along
the
river
on
days
when
the
river
is
full
of
debris
and
the
boat
is
quickly
filled.
Source:
Passaic
River
Restoration
Report
Fall
2000
Volume
I,
Issue
2
United
Marine
International
is
a
subsidiary
of
Liquid
Waste
Technology,
LLC
