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Resident reports mass duck deaths at Chavez Park, urges improved maintenance and testing
Summary
A resident told the Parks Board that 35–40 ducks and geese died at Chavez Park over recent weeks, criticized staff for leaving carcasses in place and said aerators appear broken; Arizona Game and Fish was contacted to remove carcasses.
A resident told the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Board that a recent mass die-off of waterfowl at Chavez Park left as many as 35–40 dead ducks and geese in the park for days and urged the department to improve maintenance and water monitoring.
"This was mass. This was like 35 or 40 ducks and they're laying all over the park dead," the resident (Jamie) said, adding that park workers told her "That's not my job" when she asked about removing carcasses. She said carcasses remained in the park for three days and that Arizona Game and Fish was contacted to remove them.
Jamie also raised technical maintenance concerns, saying several aerators in the lake are not functioning and asking when the lake was last dredged and when aerators will be repaired. She warned that botulism can spread when flies lay eggs in carcasses.
Board members took the public comment; staff did not provide a detailed operational response during the meeting. The comment was recorded during the meeting's public-comment period and the resident asked the department to pursue improved monitoring and maintenance practices and to share testing or remediation plans with the public.
