Keeping your pool well-maintained and free of excess chemicals, algae, or other unwanted contents is your responsibility. But what happens if you end up ignoring it and leaving it to languish? A stagnant, algae-green pool behind a Henderson, Nevada, home has finally been emptied after the city gave the owner a hard deadline, warning they would drain the pool themselves and bill him for it. Drone footage from FOX5 reveals the pool is now sitting empty. But it took a long time to get there. The City of Henderson said code enforcement had been out to the property about six times over the last two years.
Neighbors complained several times about the pool. Sean Gonzalez, a neighbor of about a year, said the mosquitoes had made his own yard unusable after dark and that he’d never actually seen anyone maintain the pool. Ron Larson, whose home backs onto the property, said that in three years of watching it, the water had never been in worse shape. Larson and his wife took photos from March through July of the pool’s condition.
Earlier drone video had shown a green film, leaves, and insects across both the pool and the hot tub, FOX5 reported the week before. A July 1 notice left at the home said the City of Henderson had already treated the water with a larvicidal oil approved by the Southern Nevada Health District and ordered the pool fully drained. But over two weeks later, the water was still there.
The city then set an ultimatum. It told the owner to either drain the pool completely or restore it to working order by July 18, warning that a city crew would otherwise do the job and charge him for it on top of any fines. He finally drained it. The homeowner told FOX5 that he rents the house out and was aware of the city’s involvement, and that he still plans to power wash the pool and will make sure his tenant keeps it up.
Why a Neglected Pool Can Become a Health Hazard
You can’t just leave a pool unattended for long periods of time. For one, still water is where mosquitoes breed, and an untended pool is an ideal site. Mosquitoes lay eggs on the surface of standing water, and the Southern Nevada Health District says unmaintained swimming pools are one massive place that they multiply. West Nile virus is now endemic in Clark County during the season that runs from April through November, meaning officials expect to detect it every year.
This year the virus showed up early and spread quickly. The health district started surveillance in March because of warmer-than-average temperatures, confirmed Clark County’s first human case in early June, and found its first virus-positive mosquitoes on June 24. By July 2 the count stood at 14 positive mosquito pools, a term that refers to batches of trapped mosquitoes tested together rather than to backyard pools.
Needless to say, leaving pool water out this long isn’t a good idea when it comes to trying to eliminate mosquitoes and the diseases they carry.