Editorial: Water power

All one needs to do is look across the Taunton River at the near constant plumes of black and gray smoke spewing out of giant smokestacks to be reminded that society needs to change its energy habits. Conservation is critical, and so is the development of alternative sources of energy.

Wind and solar power are constant, clean, renewable sources that must be taken advantage of. And in a city named after a falling river, it seems obvious that water power could make an important contribution to Fall River's energy needs.

To that end, Fall River City Councilor Cathy Ann Viveiros is dusting off an old study that determined the Quequechan River is a viable source of energy. A feasibility study conducted in 1981 shows that a hydroelectric generator would be beneficial to Fall River. The generator was never built and the city continued to rely solely on a power grid that garners the lion's share of its energy from the coal-burning power plants across the Taunton.

Viveiros wants to change that, proposing the city apply for a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative grant to pay for an updated feasibility study. There's no reason to believe hydroelectric power generation would be any less possible now. The city just approved $60,000 for repairs to the Quequechan control structure, a requirement for hydroelectric power, and improved technology during the last 27 years should be able to produce even more energy from the moving water.

Viveiros correctly believes the previous study enhances Fall River's chances of securing the MTC grant. Feasibility studies can cost upward of $40,000, for which the city would have to match 15 percent, a small price to pay for the potential savings.

Should the study produce the expected result, Fall River could also apply for grants to construct the hydroelectric generator. Any money the city would have to lay out would be guaranteed by the energy services company to be replenished through electricity savings.

It should be a simple decision for the City Council to apply for the grant and build the generator. It's amazing that the city has known for 27 years that it could have been producing its own electricity, yet never followed through with a project that would have saved taxpayer money and helped the environment, which is constantly under attack from the greenhouse gases emitted by dirty power generators.

Viveiros should be congratulated for her proactive approach at the beginning of her second stint on the council. Her combination of experience from having previously served as a councilor and her enthusiasm from being a newly re-elected councilor is already proving beneficial to Fall River, particularly where the environment is concerned.

In January, she teamed with Councilor Linda Pereira in proposing Fall River join the Environmental Protection Agency's New England Energy Challenge, which asks municipalities to "reduce air pollution by assessing their energy use, take action to improve energy efficiency and seek out renewable energy choices," according to the EPA's Web site. Participating cities and towns pledge to set a goal of at least a 10 percent reduction in energy use and to seek ways to use alternative, renewable energy.

Participation in such causes increases the city's chances of securing grants for projects like hydroelectric generators in the Quequechan River.

Such proactive action is exactly what Fall River - and society at large - needs to solve the energy and environmental crisis we are all facing. Viveiros' approach to fighting that crisis is an example for others the follow.