There Is A Pigeon Poop Problem At The Sewage Treatment Plant

[matcom]

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This is the story of pigeons and poop. It is a tale of how everyone can agree on something and still be at odds. It is about how we can all understand the problem but still be unable to solve it.

And it begins at a sewage treatment plant.

Out at the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District's Pacheco plant they've got pigeons. Pigeons for days. Pigeons on the roof, in the I-beams, in the gutters and all over the machinery.

"It is,'' says Chuck Batts, plant general manager, "a great place for pigeons. There's food, water and shelter.''

And where there are pigeons, there is pigeon poop. Tons of it. They know poop out at the sewage treatment plant, and everyone agrees there is way too much of the pigeon type. It streaks the equipment, pollutes the treated water and generally ruins everyone's day.

So Batts reached what might seem a logical solution -- pigeon-cide. Most of us would agree that it has a certain blunt logic. And so workers, following what is considered by animal control officers and pest control companies to be an acceptable practice, were sent with pellet rifles about six or eight months ago to thin the ranks, Batts said.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/08/03/BAGI781K301.DTL