COA Snapshot is a Monthly Feature on COA Employees The City of Amarillo (COA) Environmental Health Department has found a unique partner in the fight against mosquitoes – Mother Nature. Or more specifically, fathead minnows. A relatively wet summer for Amarillo has highlighted the presence of mosquitoes – which love to use standing bodies of water as a breeding ground for larvae. Thanks to some creativity and ingenuity, the COA Environmental Health Department has found a natural ally against these pests, which can transmit serious illnesses such as West Nile virus to humans. Enter the fathead minnow – a small fish measuring two to three inches and native to the Amarillo area. Fathead minnows love to dine on mosquito larvae – making the fish a useful resource to help reduce the mosquito population. The COA Environmental Health Department began releasing fathead minnows in the field last year after researching a similar mosquito control program in Las Vegas. Fathead minnows have been released at four locations. “We have seen favorable results,” said COA Deputy Environmental Health Director Zac Badrow. “(The fathead minnow) has become a resource for us for mosquito control.” The city is only releasing fathead minnows on city property. “We release them in evaporative ponds with street water runoff – things like that. Basically, where you see retention ponds that hold runoff water and are on city property,” Badrow said. There are many positives about this unique program. Being a native species, fathead minnows are used to the sometimes-extreme Amarillo environment. “The best part is the tradeoff on cost as far as taxpayer money,” Badrow said. “It is much cheaper to use these fish than it is chemicals. Chemicals are a biological control. With these fish, we are using a native species as a tool.” The COA Environmental Health

Repairs are underway Friday related to an unauthorized discharge of an initial volume of 20,000 gallons of treated wastewater. The discharge is in a non-residential area approximately one-half mile south of the Harrington Power Generation facility and one-half mile west of Lakeside Drive. No public or private drinking water sources have been identified within one-half of a mile of the spill location. The discharge is not identified as an environmental hazard as the water has been through the full treatment process and has been adequately disinfected. The final volume of discharge is not yet known pending completion of repairs. The discharge began on Friday (August 22) at 9:30 a.m. and repairs may be ongoing through the weekend. The cause of the discharge was a break in the line after a minor power supply loss caused pumps to stop. Starting the pumps after the power failure caused a pressure spike which likely damaged the aged line. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has been notified of the spill and repair efforts are being conducted by City of Amarillo Wastewater Collections personnel.

Dumpsters to be Temporarily Relocated for Trash Service A $1.28 million project to replace and improve water mains in the North Heights neighborhood begins this week with the mobilization process. The North Heights Water Main Replacement Project (NHWMRP) was unanimously approved in June by city council. The project is funded with City of Amarillo (COA) water and sewer fund revenues. The project contractor, Turkey Creek HDD, will begin the mobilization process in the alley between the 1200 Block of North Polk Street and Taylor Street. Water main replacements will continue south towards the 800 block of North Polk/Taylor streets. The NHWMRP will replace existing two-inch water mains with new six-inch water mains in select locations to improve water service in the North Heights area. The majority of the work will occur in alleys and some street crossings. In preparation of the project, the COA Solid Waste Department will temporarily relocate dumpsters in affected alleys. The project will impact traffic around the construction area. The contractor will minimize impact to the public as much as possible. Motorists are advised to please heed all traffic signs. For more information, go to: www.amarillo.gov/capital-projects-and-development/water-utilities-projects/

The recruiting firm hired by the City of Amarillo (COA) to help in the search for the next chief of the Amarillo Police Department (APD) has scheduled a public meeting for citizens to provide input and discuss the recruitment process. Public Sector Search & Consulting, the only search firm in the United States to focus exclusively on recruiting police executives, has set a meeting for 6 p.m. on August 25 in Room 1500 of City Hall. Citizens are welcome to provide feedback regarding the recruitment and selection of the next APD chief. In addition, COA is offering an online survey to help guide the selection. Public participation will help identify the qualities, experience and public safety priorities that matter most to the Amarillo community. The previously announced survey is anonymous and will be open through August 29. English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Amarillo-Police-Chief Spanish: https://es.surveymonkey.com/r/Amarillo-Police-Chief-Espanola