This development poses very serious health consequences due to the risk of mosquito borne illness. According to the Boulder County Health Department there are currently four viruses in Colorado that are transmitted by mosquitoes: Western equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, California encephalitis and West Nile virus. As we all know West Nile has had the greatest effect on residents of Boulder County.

So, why does this development pose particular problems with respect to mosquito borne illness? Runoff from the development has to be captured on site in a detention pond. In the preliminary design sketch for the development the detention pond is located in the northwest corner of the property. Because of very high ground water levels in the area the detention pond will not be able to be very deep but, instead, will be shallow and broad. As the developer's soil testing points out ground water levels in the area are 8 inches to 3 feet down. In the design sketch the detention pond looks to be larger than 1 acre in size. A rough estimate is that the pond needs to be sized to hold approximately 2-3 acre feet of runoff water.

This pond will naturally collect standing water and, due to high ground water levels, will probably have substantial amounts of standing water year long. This will serve as an incredible breeding ground for mosquitos. As the Boulder County Health Department notes:

1 small can of water can hold as many as 10,000 mosquito larvae.

What will 1+ acre of swampy ground produce?

As the following image demonstrates even small scale, well engineered detention ponds can easily turn swampy and become breeding grounds for mosquitos.

Detention Pond

As noted by the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD) describing a study undertaken by the California Department of Health:

The results of the investigation left no question that a variety of vector species, particularly mosquitoes, utilize the habitats created by stormwater BMP structures throughout the US.

The city itself has noted the risks that detention ponds can bring with respect to West Nile. In congressional testimony Ben Urbonas, of the UDFCD, has testified:

Adequate research needs to be done to assess the extent of West Nile Virus and other vector borne diseases and the relationship of structural stormwater BMPs as a contributor to the problem when compared to other potential sources of their breeding.

In recent years Boulder County has been greatly impacted by the spread of the mosquito borne West Nile Virus. Many people have died due to this disease and many others are facing life long health impacts. As the Boulder County states:

It’s important to remember that West Nile virus is here to stay in Colorado

As the following map shows (from Boulder County Health Department current activity map) this area is ground zero for West Nile carrying mosquitos. There is a large number of birds in the corvid family (e.g., crows, magpies, and ravens) in the area which constitute the majority of birds reported to carry West Nile. All of the traps in the area have detected the Culex mosquito species and West Nile has been detected in two nearby traps. Furthermore, as local residents can attest, this area is mosquito heaven (though hell for the rest of us). Mosquitos are a very serious problem.

An ironic (and potentially tragic) aspect of this is that the community benefit component of the proposed development is for senior housing, a population segment, that according to the Centers for Disease Control is especially susceptible to West Nile:

People over 50 at higher risk to get sick. People over the age of 50 are more likely to develop serious symptoms of WNV if they do get sick and should take special care to avoid mosquito bites.

Many of the homeowners in the surrounding neighborhoods are also seniors. Furthermore, this area is adjacent to heavily used soccer fields, playgrounds, dog parks and a middle school.

It is unconscionable to subject us to even more risks of West Nile. When asked the question about mosquitos breeding in the detention pond at the recent May 24th meeting the architect had a flippant and not very effective response:

Well, you see, the water will be flowing through there.

This issue cannot be dismissed with such an offhand remark. As noted here:

Mosquito larva can complete its aquatic life cycle in as short as 4 days depending on the water temperatures and food supply available to them.

Let's not make things worse for the residents.