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Sunnyvale opts into the Dallas county aerial spray program
By Zach Markovic, zmarkovic@starlocalnews.com
Sunnyvale has joined forces with Dallas County Monday evening during a special meeting in hopes to contain the spread of mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus.
With a vote of 4 to 0, Ronnie Henderson was unable to attend the meeting because of a previously scheduled event; the council gave the county permission to aerial spray the area on Thursday, Aug. 23. Initially the county was only spraying areas north of Interstate 30. On Friday county officials informed the town they could vote to opt into the spraying for this Thursday.
The entire town had been ground sprayed on Sunday and Monday evenings that began around 9:30 p.m. and aerial spraying on Thursday could begin as early as 8:30 p.m.
Mayor Jim Phaup said he does not feel the one spraying is going to have a dramatic effect on the mosquito problem in the area. He said he hopes by combining efforts through aerial spraying, ground spraying and mosquito dunks the town provides a larger impact could be made. This also keeps Sunnyvale on the counties radar should future spraying opportunities occur.
“We have had a lot of citizens reach out on both sides saying ‘Lets do it.’ or ‘lets not,” Mayor Phaup said.”One thing is not going to help. [The county has] been very aggressive in battling the problem North of 30, so we reached out and asked ‘why just north of 30?”’
Councilwoman Paula Yates said residents need to be mindful of the spraying and take all precautions when outside in the evenings. She said the council will advise the town officials to make sure the parks are cleaned after the spraying before children play on them. They are also going to advise the school system they may wish to do the same. But with two confirmed positive tests of mosquitoes found in traps she said approving aerial spraying was the right way to handle the emergency
“We know [the West Nile Virus] is here and this is a precaution,” Yates said. “We take it very seriously; we looked at other cities to see if there was any problems that arose from the spraying. We are trying to do everything we can.”
Town Manager Scott Campbell said he still recommends residents to come into town hall to pick-up mosquito dunk tablets. The town had initially ran out Friday, but is restocked for residents to pick up their free packs.
“Given that we are still very rural, we have people with tanks and ponds on their property,” Campbell said. “Dunks were suggested as something other cities have done.”
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced today there are 552 state-confirmed cases of West Nile illness in Texas so far this year, including 21 related deaths.
In addition to aerial spraying efforts in Dallas County, state health officials are urging people to protect themselves by using insect repellent and draining standing water, which can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Aerial spraying for mosquito control is expected to occur again tonight in Dallas County, depending on weather conditions. DSHS continues to work with Dallas County and cities to determine the areas to be covered each night by the four available planes. The next flights will focus on the unsprayed portion of the county north of Interstate 30, including Dallas County cities that cross into Collin County.
Spray areas are established based on city preferences and disease prevalence and will follow a defined grid pattern for flight efficiency. The maps are adjusted depending on areas covered and weather conditions. Each of the four planes can cover up to 64,000 acres a night but may be grounded or delayed due to rain or winds over 10 miles per hour.
The portion of the county south of Interstate 30 excluding the city of Dallas will be evaluated early next week based on input and requests from the cities in that area.
DSHS continues to coordinate with local health officials on mosquito surveillance. Mosquito counts were taken before spraying occurred and post-spray counts will be analyzed in the coming days. A second round of spraying may occur early next week.
Joining in with Sunnyvale the portions of south of Highway 30 will receive aerial spraying from Dallas County for mosquitoes on Aug. 23 as early as 8:30 p.m., weather permitting. This will also include parts of unincorporated Kaufman County, as Mesquite is located both in Dallas and Kaufman counties. The city of Mesquite will continue ground spraying as needed.
For details on the chemicals being used in the aerial spraying, to read tips for personal prevention of mosquito bites and other information on this topic, visit www.cityofmesquite.com/westnile. For information or questions pertaining to the City of Mesquite's ground spraying, please call the city's public health division at 972-216-8138.
For the latest human illness case counts, go to www.dshs.state.tx.us/news/updates.shtm.
For spray maps and other county information, go to: www.dallascounty.org/westnile.php.
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