NEWS RELEASE

Date: Oct. 17, 2002

County teams up with water district to educate community about the West Nile virus
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Campaign encourages residents to “target the source”

SAN JOSÉ – The County of Santa Clara and Santa Clara Valley Water District are teaming up for a public outreach campaign and a series of training workshops to teach residents how to prevent an outbreak of West Nile virus.

Through the joint effort, training workshops and other educational materials will teach homeowners, renters, ranchers and livestock owners how to reduce likely mosquito habitats around their homes and businesses by eliminating standing water.

The partnership will be announced during a press conference Thursday, Oct. 17, at 10 a.m. in front of the County Government Center, 70 W. Hedding St., San José. The first of a series of training workshops for public agencies, outdoor groups, and interested and concerned homeowners will be held at 1 p.m. today at the Santa Clara Valley Water District, 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose.

“Our partnership with the water district and other outreach partners is the next step in our proactive campaign to protect people in Santa Clara County from the West Nile virus,” said District 5 Supervisor Liz Kniss, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “Together we will use our resources to reach county residents, helping them learn how they can prevent the West Nile virus.”

“We are very fortunate to have had such a proactive mosquito-abatement program in this county for so many years,” said Rosemary Kamei, chairwoman of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. “We are committed to continuing our efforts along the waterways and to assist the county in its efforts to teach residents how to take preventative measures.”

For the past several months, the county’s 300 miles of public waterways and 4,000 acres of wetlands have been under constant surveillance to control the presence of potential mosquito habitat. But there has been no comparable effort among residents and business owners to eliminate standing water, which mosquitoes use as habitat.

“Homeowners, those living in rental units, owners of agricultural operations and business owners can take simple steps to make sure there is no standing water around their homes or places of employment,” said Tim Mulligan, director of Santa Clara County Vector Control District. “All it takes is recognizing that abandoned tires, clogged rain gutters, bird baths and other common sources of water offer optimum habitat for mosquitoes.”

Outreach partners joining the campaign to help educate the community to “target the source” include: the City of San José, Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, Cupertino-Sunnyvale League of Women Voters, Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, Milpitas Chamber of Commerce, Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, Mountain View-Los Altos League of Women Voters, Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, People Acting in Community Together (P.A.C.T), Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission of Santa Clara County, San Jose Silicon Valley NAACP, Santa Clara County Audubon Society, Santa Clara County Chapter/Farm Bureau Federation, Santa Clara County Cattlemens Association, Santa Clara County Emergency Managers Association, Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County and Water Pollution Advisory Board.

The workshops will cover WNV background and facts, the county approach to mosquito control, and training for district field crews on what they can do to prevent the spread of the West Nile virus. Subsequent workshops will be held later this year.

County officials are quick to point out that the risk of contracting West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne virus transmitted to people and animals, is minimal. “ The risk of an individual becoming ill with West Nile virus is very low,” said County Health Officer Martin D. Fenstersheib, M.D., M.P.H., “However we all must take measures to reduce exposure which includes the use of insect repellants and other personal protection.”

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages Santa Clara County's wholesale drinking water resources, coordinates flood protection for its 1.7 million residents and provides stewardship for the county's 10 reservoirs and more than 700 miles of streams.