A trip of goats have been grazing at the Miramar Reservoir for the last two weeks eating the dry vegetation on the west and south sides of the reservoir.
"The goats are here to clear the vegetation for visibility so that we can inspect the dam and ensure that it's holding and everything," said Tim Breidenstein, a reservoir maintenance supervisor for the city of San Diego.
He said clearing the brush is preventative for fires as well.
Normally this work would be done by human crews with gas-powered equipment but Breidenstein said goats are better for the environment, and the cost is about the same.
"We felt this might be a greener option to utilize some goats instead of having people out here with weed whips and the noise," Breidenstein said.
In 15 days, about 350 goats will have cleared about 12 acres of unwanted brush and vegetation.
The city gets the goats from a company called ELM Goats.
The animals eat native vegetation as well as invasive grasses and weeds said, Johnny Gonzales, field operations manager for ELM.
"Both are required so we can maintain the security and the access to the dam. But mainly they're removing seeds of the invasive grasses," Gonzales said. "They're converting it and such that we are going to maintain the pH of the soils. So we keep the root system growing of the native plants. This is all for soil integrity and plant restoration."
He said the goats’ droppings return nutrients back to the soil without contaminating the water supply.
"They're nitrogen neutral. They're pellets. They're not going to create a bloom. They have no seeds in their droppings. And the bacterial load is so minimal that they're practically considered inert," Gonzales said.
The goats will be grazing near the reservoir through Tuesday.
