If a fallen tree was reported or thick vegetation was obstructing drainage in Iberia Parish three months ago, it would have taken five or six Public Works employees about a week to clear the mess with chainsaws.

That was before the Slashbuster.

The recent Public Works Department’s purchase is designed to cut and mulch brush and trees, and the time it takes to bring the tree down can be as short as under a minute.

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“It cuts down the number of people, there’s less equipment used and less diesel in the air because there are no trucks hauling off the pieces of the tree,” Iberia Parish Public Works Director Kevin Hagerich said. “What five or six people could do in a week, this thing does in a little over half a day.”

Hagerich and Public Works Maintenance supervisor Terry Bourque began eyeing the tool at a conference demonstration after hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Hagerich said.

Not long after the tool was purchased, a London-based TV station shooting a series for Discovery Channel contacted Hagerich about the Slashbuster’s capabilities in Iberia Parish.

A camera crew visited Iberia Parish and spent two days filming the Public Works workers and the Slashbuster, which is set to air on Discovery this fall for its “Heavy Metal Task Force” series.

The machine is an attachment that latches on to excavators and uses a 54-inch steel plate with teeth to cut down and mulch trees simultaneously. Since its purchase, the department has been using the machine to clear some of the drainage canals and ditches that could not be reached in the past.

Iberia Parish is home to about 830 miles of drainage canals and ditches, Hagerich said.

“The efficiency of this machine has been wonderful, and the safety factor has definitely gone up,” Hagerich said. “When people were out there before, they were dealing with snakes, poison ivy and chainsaws. It was dangerous.”

The nearly $250,000 spent on the machine was questioned by some Parish Council members when the purchase was approved, but Hagerich said when labor and fuel costs are considered, the machine will save money for the parish in the future.

“We used to either have to dig a hole for the tree and bury it, which would make bumps in the ground, or burn it, which would put unknown particles into the air, or bring it to the landfill to take up space there,” Hagerich said.

As the trees are taken down, the leftover mulch is immediately ready to start the biodegrading process. A crew can then get into the canal or ditch to remove other obstructions.

Once the debris is removed, the workers plant Bermuda grass and spray a herbicide that will prevent weeds and other vegetation from growing, but will still promote the growth of the Bermuda grass.

The machine clears the tree without uprooting it, which prevents erosion that often occurs after a tree has been uprooted, Bourque said.

“Contrary to what some may believe, we’re getting a lot more done in a lot less time with a lot less money,” Bourque said.