An Innovative Solution to Managing Stormwater and Mosquitoes

May 2008 – UniverCity, the sustainable residential community on Burnaby Mountain near Simon Fraser University installs innovative windmill powered aerator to discourage breeding habitat for West Nile virus vector mosquitoes.
According to the BC Center for Disease Control, humans can be infected with West Nile virus through the bite of an infected mosquito. Although it has not yet reached BC, it has been found within a few kilometers of our southern and eastern borders.
“Providing a healthy environment, now and in the future, for UniverCity residents and the broader community is one of our key commitments,” said Gordon Harris, President and CEO SFU Community Trust. “Even though the West Nile Virus isn’t currently in BC, our community features detention ponds and open watercourses which would naturally attract mosquitoes. We are proactively and permanently reducing mosquito numbers using innovative and sustainable solutions to prevent a future problem.”
The new windmill will work year round to power a continuous supply of oxygen to the water in the storm water management pond. Aerators will also be installed at the bottom where air is released into the entire volume of the water. As oxygen supply is maintained, so is the water quality, reducing the opportunity for mosquito larvae to survive.
UniverCity’s community’s mosquito management program includes installation of not only the windmill, but also a solar aeration system. Other initiatives include planting of native vegetation, monitoring vegetation, aquatic invertebrates and water conditions, and installing birdhouses and nest boxes. These sustainable long-term solutions are the very latest of technologies developed by the environmental scientists at Culex Environmental.
“The goal of the retention pond management program will be to reduce breeding opportunities for mosquito vectors of West Nile virus (WNv) and to prevent water stagnation and invasion of ponds by opportunistic plants,” said Dr. Michael Jackson, RPBio, President Culex Environmental.”
UniverCity’s comprehensive storm water management system is among the most successful of its many sustainable initiatives. Designed as a combination of community-scale facilities and on-parcel storage and infiltration systems, the system is designed to mimic nature by returning nearly 100% of storm water to the ground instead of into conventional drainage pipes and ditches. The objective is to maintain pre-development storm water runoff quality and quantity so that downstream aquatic life is not adversely affected by the new development. There are currently two detention ponds in the community along with an extensive network of open watercourses and bioswales.
About Culex Environmental:
Based in Vancouver, Culex Environmental Ltd. was created to achieve environmentally sensitive, cost-effective long-term solutions to insect pest monitoring and management. They’ve been involved in mosquito management programs since 2002. Culex keeps up-to-date on new developments in mosquito control and conducts its own in-house research and development program.
About UniverCity:
UniverCity is a complete, sustainable, residential community comprised of walkable neighbourhoods on approximately 160 acres of university land, adjacent to the SFU campus. It is home to 2,000 people, with more neighbourhoods planned to accommodate a thriving community of approximately 4,500 homes and 10,000 people. Homes range from smaller apartments suitable for students to large condominiums for family living. The community includes a commercial town centre, parks, an extensive bicycle and pathway system, a variety of community amenities, and an elementary school will open September 2010.