From: Stormwater, BMPs, and Vectors: The Impact of New BMP Construction on Local Public Health Agencies
Vector-Control Costs at a Glance
The experience with Caltrans BMP structures has given GLACVCD the background and experience needed to estimate vector-control costs associated with BMP structures that require regular monitoring and control as a result of their design. For reference, the annual taxation for vector-control services in GLACVCD's service area is currently $3.65 per parcel.
As municipalities race to comply with new standard urban stormwater mitigation plan (SUSMP) regulations, thousands of new BMP sites may be built within the GLACVCD boundary. Once these structures are in place, the district will have the obligation and responsibility to monitor and control all of these structures for mosquitoes and other vectors. During the two-year Caltrans pilot study, GLACVCD was required to intensively monitor all BMP sites to gather as much information as possible on vector breeding potential. During this intensive monitoring period (in which site visits were conducted at a rate greater than that typical for GLACVCD), approximately 770 hours were spent monitoring 16 BMP sites, and an additional 130 hours were spent on mosquito suppression–numbers that reflect the BMP/vector research effort. Weekly monitoring of each BMP site for a year took an average of 28 hours. This figure includes only the time required to conduct fieldwork, such as monitoring and treatment; not included is the time necessary for larval identification, data analysis, and reporting.
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Under current GLACVCD vector-control practices, all known potential mosquito-breeding sources are inspected at 10- to 14-day intervals. The worst-case scenario is one in which all BMPs are continuously holding water and need constant attention (requiring 14 hours of staff time per year for inspection and control services). Based on a conservative estimate of 1,000 new BMP structures constructed within district boundaries, the district would have to hire seven additional vector-control specialists and require a budget increase of approximately $750,000 (calculated at GLACVCD's standard hourly overall rate of $52.32; rates might vary for different organizations around the country). However, the bimonthly inspection rhythm can be continued only as long as mosquito-control agents with extended residual larvicidal effect are still available. With increasingly stringent water-quality requirements, as well as growing ecological and human health concerns, the list of control agents able to be legally applied to breeding sources that might be discharged to rivers or oceans has steadily decreased. If extended residual larvicides are lost, the above-estimated vector-control costs would have to be doubled.
In the boundary of the GLACVCD, the cost of vector-control services would have to be absorbed by the responsible agencies or property owners building and maintaining these structures. The California Health and Safety Code prohibits the creation of mosquito breeding sites and allows for violators to be fined up to $500 per day. Since the actual number of structures will most certainly exceed the 1,000 used in our example, it is worthwhile to contemplate how important it will be to design mosquito breeding habitat out of these BMP structures, thereby keeping the necessary monitoring and actual mosquito breeding to a minimum.
March-April 2002
From: Stormwater, BMPs, and Vectors: The Impact of New BMP Construction on Local Public Health Agencies
Vector-Control Costs at a Glance
The experience with Caltrans BMP structures has given GLACVCD the background and experience needed to estimate vector-control costs associated with BMP structures that require regular monitoring and control as a result of their design. For reference, the annual taxation for vector-control services in GLACVCD's service area is currently $3.65 per parcel.As municipalities race to comply with new standard urban stormwater mitigation plan (SUSMP) regulations, thousands of new BMP sites may be built within the GLACVCD boundary. Once these structures are in place, the district will have the obligation and responsibility to monitor and control all of these structures for mosquitoes and other vectors. During the two-year Caltrans pilot study, GLACVCD was required to intensively monitor all BMP sites to gather as much information as possible on vector breeding potential. During this intensive monitoring period (in which site visits were conducted at a rate greater than that typical for GLACVCD), approximately 770 hours were spent monitoring 16 BMP sites, and an additional 130 hours were spent on mosquito suppression–numbers that reflect the BMP/vector research effort. Weekly monitoring of each BMP site for a year took an average of 28 hours. This figure includes only the time required to conduct fieldwork, such as monitoring and treatment; not included is the time necessary for larval identification, data analysis, and reporting.
Under current GLACVCD vector-control practices, all known potential mosquito-breeding sources are inspected at 10- to 14-day intervals. The worst-case scenario is one in which all BMPs are continuously holding water and need constant attention (requiring 14 hours of staff time per year for inspection and control services). Based on a conservative estimate of 1,000 new BMP structures constructed within district boundaries, the district would have to hire seven additional vector-control specialists and require a budget increase of approximately $750,000 (calculated at GLACVCD's standard hourly overall rate of $52.32; rates might vary for different organizations around the country). However, the bimonthly inspection rhythm can be continued only as long as mosquito-control agents with extended residual larvicidal effect are still available. With increasingly stringent water-quality requirements, as well as growing ecological and human health concerns, the list of control agents able to be legally applied to breeding sources that might be discharged to rivers or oceans has steadily decreased. If extended residual larvicides are lost, the above-estimated vector-control costs would have to be doubled.
In the boundary of the GLACVCD, the cost of vector-control services would have to be absorbed by the responsible agencies or property owners building and maintaining these structures. The California Health and Safety Code prohibits the creation of mosquito breeding sites and allows for violators to be fined up to $500 per day. Since the actual number of structures will most certainly exceed the 1,000 used in our example, it is worthwhile to contemplate how important it will be to design mosquito breeding habitat out of these BMP structures, thereby keeping the necessary monitoring and actual mosquito breeding to a minimum.