File photo by respres Foreclosure on house

In the wake of the foreclosure crisis, stories are being reported about how lenders are having to maintain properties and how some former owners are leaving them in disarray and disrepair. These are problems that negatively impact the financial and aesthetic component of affected communities. But an issue is rising from the depths of the ongoing crisis that expands far beyond an eye sore or two. In neighbourhoods where beautiful homes line the streets, some homes with abandoned swimming pools are beginning to create health concerns. Algae and mosquitoes are just a few of the problems that grow from the once refreshing playgrounds, as one report explains.

Cole, 36, is an environmental health specialist with the Southern Nevada Health District. He and six others are charged with stopping the pools from becoming disease incubators. In recent years, as Sin City turned into Foreclosure City, the team has been swamped.

According to RealtyTrac, Nevada has over 340,000 homes currently in foreclosure status, tacking on more than 16,200 in April 2009 alone. And although California is the leader in the foreclosure numbers, adding nearly 100,000 in April, the nation's swelling 1.8 million homes dealing with the big "F" word makes the reality of problems a growing concern. But for the issue of the cleverly labeled "Green Pool" syndrome associated with the trend, it goes beyond location and numbers. People who once lived in the $400,000, 5-bedroom homes and who lost out due to the financial crisis sweeping the country left the pools full of water or worse, as described in the article, shoveled "dog waste" in them. As the state health district in Nevada saw a massive jump in the number of complaints for the "green" swimming pools between 2007 and 2008, the number is still climbing with an 80 per cent increase in the three month time period of January through March from 2008 to 2009. And in one county in Arizona, there have been about 14,000 complaints so far this year. Of course, finding those pools is no easy task. In San Diego County, where the county website describes pools as having the potential to be "the source of many diseases and injuries, such as Giardia, Cryptosporidia, and E. coli," weekly flyovers are conducted via helicopter to help identify the rancid pools. One of the biggest problems coming from the abandoned pools across the country is that of mosquitoes. In the hotter climates, the pests breed year-round, and these neglected pools serve as a medium for a mosquito population growth. Many states deal with the problem by throwing in what are called mosquitofish. However, it takes about 50 of the hardy fish to deplete a 400-square-foot pool of mosquitoes. A number that is costing districts some serious money as well as finding enough fish to fit the bill. From Virginia to Louisiana, the concerns over the mosquitoes and their link to the high number of foreclosed homes with pools are becoming a serious problem. In Fresno County, CA, the first reported mosquitoes to test positive with the West Nile Virus came down from the Health Department just yesterday. In the state so far this year, 11 birds have died from the virus and last year, one person died along with two others who tested positive for the mosquito transmitted virus. In the United States, over 15,000 people have tested positive, with 500 deaths total since 1999. With California on the top of the heap for foreclosures, the reality that disease can spread quickly is a major issue. Back in the summer of 2008, Mortgage News Daily ran a report on the looming problem with rancid pools and health issues. Although the focus was primarily on mosquitoes in undrained pools, those that were drained also served as a collection site for water which allowed for mosquito breeding. This means that not only abandoned pools full of water are breeding disease, but that empty pools left as entrapments for rain water also pose a risk. So as the nation continues to see homes for sale in massive numbers due to foreclosure, the correlative increase in health issues due to abandoned swimming pools could make its way across the country as the warmer months arrive.