County Technicians Rescue Abandoned Pools In Foreclosed Homes

Swimming pools left unattended when homeowners vacate a property due to foreclosure are posing health hazards for the neighborhood. Many pools are becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes as the water stagnates and collects algae. Crows and other birds are also drawn to the pools which then become their watering holes. It is not uncommon to even find dead birds floating in rotting water.

This situation increases the risk of disease originating from these abandoned pools. One such disease which residents fear is the West Nile disease. The virus is carried and spread by both mosquitoes and birds.

Help is at hand however from the Department of Environmental Health. The department’s vector control technicians are assigned the responsibility of cleaning up stagnant pools left in foreclosed homes. Technicians first visit the home to investigate a complaint made by the residents of the neighborhood. They then take action based on their findings.

John Ballard, a technician of the Santa Clara County, points out that when homeowners face foreclosure the all encompassing thought in their minds is where they will live next. Draining the pool so that it does not stagnate is likely to be way down in their list of priorities. Furthermore, even if they do drain the pool before leaving there is every chance that rain water will collect and fill it up again.

Scott Barron, Santa Clara’s code enforcement officer, says that the deep end of a dry pool can pose a safety hazard for children wandering around in the empty property. Thus, officials are unsure whether an empty pool or a green and dirty one is more hazardous. Keeping the pool filled but clean perhaps is the best option.

Dirty pools are no the prerogative of foreclosed properties alone. Cases of owners neglecting the pool because they do not use the home much or forgetting about it because it needs repairs also happen.

Foreclosures however increase the workload of technicians assigned to clean up the pools. They also pose more difficulties because the bank which has repossessed the property may have cut off water and electricity to minimise losses and this makes it difficult to drain out the pool.

In order to clean the pools they are first sprayed with a chemical solution that helps suffocate the mosquito larvae. Then gambush fish are introduced into the water. These fish eat up the remaining larvae as well as gnats, algae and other vegetation.

Officials like Ballard and Scott prefer working through real estate agents as they too have a stake in keeping the property clean. After all, a clean property is easier to sell.

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