The Health District will investigate drainage complaints if either of two conditions are present: if a drainage way has been blocked so that pooled water has impacted a household sewage treatment system (HSTS), or if pooled water has stagnated, and become a breeding place for mosquitoes. The Health District does not regulate storm water runoff, discharges from swimming pools, or discharges from sump pumps. The Health District can take no action if pooled water is not impacting an HSTS, or has not become a breeding place for mosquitoes.
Pooled water can adversely affect a HSTS if it is covering a leach field, or a portion of it, since water standing over leach lines can severely reduce the capacity of the system to absorb wastewater. Water covering the discharge pipe of an HSTS could cause a malfunction of the system, or cause sewage to back up in a house. If water is backing up on a lot because a drainage way has been blocked on a neighboring property, and a HSTS has been affected, then the Health District can order the person creating the blockage to unblock the drainage way, or provide a way for the water to drain.
Pooled water must stand at least ten days before it could become a breeding site for mosquitoes, since it takes that long for the eggs to hatch. Mosquito larvae must be observed in pooled water before the Health District can take action. If mosquito larvae are found, then the property owner will be required either to treat or drain the pooled water.
The owner of a property on which water has pooled and become a mosquito breeding site is responsible for treating or eliminating the pooled water regardless of the source of the water. The Health District cannot order someone other than the property owner to treat or eliminate standing water on an owner’s property.
Standing water may be treated with a mosquito larvicide, which is a pesticide specifically formulated to kill mosquito larvae. Treatment with motor oil is against the law. A larvicide recommended for home use is called “Mosquito Dunks”. It can be purchased at hardware stores or garden stores, and is a small, doughnut-like cake. It is non-toxic, and is composed of a bacteria which is lethal only to mosquito and black fly larvae. The cake is placed in water where mosquitoes are breeding. One cake will treat up to one hundred square feet of surface area, and will last up to thirty days, if it isn’t washed out.
If pooled water is present in a drainage ditch on a county road, then contact the Clermont County Engineers Office at (513)732-8857. The Engineers Office is responsible for maintaining county roads, and will clear out the ditch when time is available. If there is a problem with a drainage ditch on a township road, then contact the local township officials.
Swimming pools which have been neglected can be unsightly, but may not necessarily be mosquito breeding sites. If the water in a swimming pool has turned green it is due to the presence of algae, which does not create a health nuisance. Frogs in a swimming pool are not a health nuisance.
Swimming pools must be maintained in a manner which will prevent a risk or hazard to the community. An in-ground swimming pool must be enclosed with a fence at least 48 inches in height, and have secured gates of the same height. No openings in the fence may allow the passage of a 4 inch sphere through it. Enclosures are not required for above-ground swimming pools, and they do not have to be secured.
File a complaint online.
See Vector-borne Disease Control for more information about mosquitoes, mosquito control, and mosquito surveillance.