Another Unintended Consequence of the Foreclosure Crisis
The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that local health officials are worried about the potential for disease epidemics like West Nile Virus carried by mosquitoes. And where would mosquitoes carrying the deadly disease be likely to breed in record numbers?
The swimming pools of foreclosed homes.
A Santa Clara County official remarked "One of the first things to go bye-bye for a resident in foreclosure is pool maintenance. It's a drain on their resources." To discover places where mosquitoes might breed, the county is flying a survey plane looking for telltale signs of pool neglect in homes without the county limits.
Santa Clara County had four reported cases of West Nile virus last year, though none so far this year. And with record foreclosures hitting California, their concern is real and demonstrates how far the foreclosure crisis will impact the United States in ways that we haven't begun to see yet.