The city's $320,000 seaweed harvester weathered a recent winter storm under a protective tarp. It's due to be shrinkwrapped in the coming weeks. (Photo by Tom Shevlin)
NEWPORT, R.I. –The city’s much ballyhooed seaweed harvester may be designed to patrol the shoreline, but it’s getting a winter storage treatment fit for a watercraft.
According to City Manager Edward F. Lavallee, the $320,000 one-off is due to be shrinkwrapped, after what he described as a brief, but promising first season.
“Although the machine is stainless steel, we made the determination when we initially contracted for its construction that we would protect it in the off-season, either by storing it in a garage or otherwise covering it,” Lavallee reported to councilors on Wednesday. “The shrinkwrapping appears to the be the best solution.”
City staff worked alongside engineers from the manufacturer throughout the summer to iron out some of the kinks to the harvester. (Staff Photo)
Protecting the machine from the elements seems like a no-brainer, although just how it would spend the off-season was a topic here in the comments section on Newport Now earlier this fall. And for good reason; the city has gone all-in with the contraption, betting that it will successfully combat the onslaught of seaweed that invariably washes ashore at the beach and can contribute to costly beach closures during the height of the summer months.
The prototype machine was delivered shortly after Memorial Day and was used in trial-and-error mode through the Fall. And while seaweed harvesters have been in use for years, this was the first machine constructed for operation on a surf beach. Not surprisingly, like many prototypes Newport’s machine has had its fair share of kinks to work out.
According to Lavallee, over the course of the first few months, several improvements were added by the contractor, including the
replacement of the conveyer belt, modification of the wheel system, adjustment to the hydraulic control, and modifications to the front-end scooping mechanism. As an added safety feature, the manufacturer has also installed a manual hydraulic pump.
Recently, the front-end conveyor component was also shipped back to the factory for minor refinements and is expected back within the next two weeks.
In a memo to councilors detailing the machine’s first season, Lavallee reported that in retrospect, the total purchase cost to the city for the machine, all of the testing, modification, related shipping, parts enhancement, addition of components, was $320,000, which was the same as initial contract price. “All of the additions, enhancements, modifications, related labor, parts, training and shipping have been borne by the manufacturer,” he said. “To our knowledge, the manufacturer expended at least $17,000 on enhancements, training and parts, since the time of delivery.”
And while no formal record was kept, it’s estimated that the machine was on the beach and working approximately 35 days this past season.
Seaweed that was removed totaled three dumpsters and cost of $1,500 for transportation. The seaweed itself, which is ideal for use as compost and fertilizer, was accepted at no cost. Looking ahead, Lavallee added that the city is currently investigating options for long-term disposal, including use by local farmers and the conversion of the seaweed for bio-diesel fuel.
Should the material come to be seen more as a commodity, Lavallee is hopeful that the city will actually be able to sell the material for a profit.
With so much attention given to the machine, and the seaweed problem it’s trying to address, in many the success of the harvester is tied to the success of Easton’s Beach as a whole.
According to Lavallee, “In it’s short tenure at Easton’ s Beach, the harvester has attracted significant attention and received positive public reaction to its impact on the beach. And, he added, similar contraptions could be destined for use in other parts of the globe. The manufacturer has reportedly attracted the attention of a European country expressing interest in purchasing as many as 50 machines of the same design.
The city administration plans to have the harvester back in action beginning in the spring, for what it hopes will be a full-scale war against seaweed.
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Newport, RI
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Mr. Lavalee, how about some accuracy in reporting your accomplishment with the harvester so that we taxpayers can hold either reward your good efforts or hold you accountable for your mistake? You can start by maintaining accurate usage and maintenance records for the harvester–not difficult, a simple handwritten log will do.
Not accounting for a myriad of other costs (operator salary, fuel, maintenance, storage, repairs, cost of disposal of the seaweed), if you use the harvester 70 times annually (double its stated usage this year), after ten years the cost is still approximately $500 per use. And you’re left with a ten year old worn out harvester.
Let’s see the business plan you used to support this purchase.
All summer long and only 3 dumpster loads were removed. I think a couple of 16 year old kids could have done the same thing with a rake for $10 dollars per hour!
How do you spell BOONDOGGLE?