Maricopa Public Health Officials Beg Delinquent Borrowers Abandoning Homes To Drain Pools Before Leaving In Battle Against Disease-Carrying Mosquitos

In Maricopa County, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:

• County health officials are bracing for an unprecedented surge in mosquito-infested swimming pools this summer, as home foreclosures and temperatures continue to rise. Complaints to the county about algae-laden "green pools" behind vacant or abandoned homes have leaped almost 250 percent since a year ago, increasing to 2,069 during the first five months of 2008 compared with 597 during the same period in 2007, said Johnny Dilone, spokesman for Maricopa County Environmental Services.

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• Public-health officials are urging delinquent borrowers to drain swimming pools before surrendering their house keys to the bank. "It's easier for us to treat it if it's drained," said John Townsend, manager of the Vector Control Program in Maricopa County. Townsend's department is doing its best to respond to the foreclosure-fueled surge in green pools, which provide a handy nest for mosquitoes to lay their eggs.

For more, see Foreclosures lead to Valley health risks (Foreclosed-on homes lead to Valley health risks). neighborhood destruction from foreclosures kappa