A stormwater basin in Albuquerque, New Mexico, became a makeshift habitat for frogs, turtles, and even beavers. That is until maintenance crews nearly turned the spot deadly, neighbors claim.
Here’s what to know
Albuquerque animal advocate Brit Walters told KOB 4 that animals had been living in pooled water inside a retention basin before she and other advocates saw crews pushing sand into it.
“They were burying them alive. We watched tadpoles and frogs and turtles get buried,” Walters said.
The work was being carried out by the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority. AMAFCA’s director of operations and maintenance said the basin is a trash rack meant to catch debris before stormwater reaches the Rio Grande. Crews usually service it about once a year, using dirt and sand to break up debris and then hauling the material away, KOB 4 reported.
What’s being done?
Walters said she and friends began rallying online with social media posts to draw attention to the problem. After realizing the basin had become a place where wildlife was sheltering, the city and AMAFCA began working together to trap animals and move them to safer locations on city property, including ponds, KOB 4 reported…