Posts tagged water
Anastasia Mosquito Control District Monitors and Addresses Increase in Mosquito Population
Aug 26th
The Anastasia Mosquito Control District reported a significant increase in the mosquito population this week due to the frequency and amount of recent rain. The District is asking St. Johns County residents to take extra precautions against contact with the insects to prevent potentially contracting West Nile and other mosquito-borne viruses.
While there are currently no reported human cases of the West Nile Virus (WNV) in St. Johns County, Jacksonville has reported 11, Escambia County has reported 2, Leon County has reported 1, and South Georgia has reported 12 including 2 deaths. The District has increased mosquito population surveillance and trap monitoring, WNV testing, overnight ground spraying, and thermal fogging. Aerial spraying has not been conducted recently due to unfavorable conditions related to the on-going rain; however, the district is currently monitoring the status of Tropical Storm Isaac and will reevaluate the conditions once the threat of additional precipitation subsides. The increase in the mosquito population is attributed to the abundance of recent rain and the resulting bodies of standing water in the area that serve as breeding grounds. The District recommends that the community take additional precautionary measures against mosquito contact during this time to avoid infection. Preventative actions include applying an EPA-registered repellant containing DEET, wearing protective clothing, avoiding outdoor activities between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active, and removing standing water from residential properties and outdoor landscaping features.
Most often spread by the bite of a mosquito, the WNV is a pathogen which can cause a serious illness potentially resulting in death. Approximately 1 in 150 people infected with the virus will develop severe illness. Symptoms can include a high fever, a headache, neck stiffness, and disorientation. For more information about WNV, please visit the Florida Department of Health website at www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/medicine/arboviral/index.html or call the St. Johns County Health Department at 904.825.5055. For more information about mosquito control, please visit www.amcdsjc.org or contact the District at 904.471.3107.
Source: St. Johns County Health Department
Tropical Storm Debby kept city crews busy
Jul 6th
While Tropical Storm Debby may not have had the wind of many storms, it certainly had the rain, and it was that rain that kept city crews busy in locations where rainwater inundated the city’s sanitary sewer system. The heavy downpours, a total of 7.72 inches in less than three days, required around the clock attention during the height of the rainfall in response to overflows in several locations of the sewer system. The overflows occurred during the heaviest periods of rain on the weekend of June 23-24 and again through until Thursday, June 26.
The city maintains a rapid response team for just such incidents and during TS Debby, credit goes to that team for minimizing the impact. Crews with pumper trucks were dispatched to locations where overflows were anticipated, but the extraordinary amount of rain caused an in-flow into the sanitary sewer system overtaxing its capacity at six locations:
Oglethorpe Blvd. at Arredondo Ave.;
St. Augustine Blvd. at Inlet Dr.;
Pine St. between San Marco Ave. and Abbott St.;
Macaris St. at Douglas Ave.;
Cordova St. at St. Francis St.; and
the Wastewater Treatment Plant at the southern end of Riberia St.
Crews captured and removed nearly 1.4 million gallons of wastewater /rainwater from the sites preventing backups into homes or discharges into waterways.
Following strict protocols for such overflows, signs were posted at each location where surface water bodies have been affected to warn the public of the event, whether they happen to be boating or fishing. Additionally, water samples are taken at each location and if contamination is found, then the signs will remain in place until the water is safe in accordance with state criteria. Generally, depending upon the size and location of the spill, it could take up to a week for the levels return to normal.
At no time during TS Debby was the city’s drinking water in any danger as only surface water (i.e. runoff water, streams, etc.) came in contact with the waste water.
In a follow-up review of the city’s practices after the storm, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection compliance inspectors deemed the city’s actions appropriate and in compliance.
For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 904.825.1040.
Source: City of St. Augustine
Flagler College faculty-led trip to Costa Rica
Jun 5th
This summer, the Flagler College Latin American 
Studies department offered a faculty-led trip to Costa Rica for students looking for a deeper immersion experience in their major.
Studies department offered a faculty-led trip to Costa Rica for students looking for a deeper immersion experience in their major.
The following is an update on the program from Flagler student Adam Krell who is currently on location with fellow classmates Ana Chambers, Diane Cassidy, Matt Garber, Elijah Hayes, Adrienne Gonzalez, and Stephanie Sweeting.
The program is led by Assistant Professor Agnieszka Johnson.
It is not every day you get on a plane to travel to a different country for five weeks. Upon arriving in the beautiful country of Costa Rica, we were greeted by our host families at the airport, who speak no English. From that point on, it has been non-stop Spanish speaking for all of us. It is truly a rewarding experience watching not only myself, but also my friends grow in the language and culture.
Intercultura School of Languages here in Costa Rica strives to provide full Spanish immersion for students so we can fully develop the skills and techniques required for learning a second language. From the intensive Spanish courses and the homestay experience with our Tico (Costa Rican) family, we are building the confidence needed to speak in Spanish.
Each day we wake up early with the sun and eat breakfast with our host families. We converse about what we have planned and make our way to the school. Spanish class starts at 8:30 a.m. sharp each morning and lasts until 12:30 p.m. with two fifteen minute breaks. After taking an hour to walk around and eat lunch, we either have a Costa Rican cooking class or dance class followed by another class taught by our faculty leader, Professor Aggie Johnson. During the cooking classes, we have learned how to cook several local dishes, like Patacones (smashed plantains that are fried, like chips) with guacamole and beans, biscochos (a Costa Rican corn cookie), and empanadas, all while learning our way around the kitchen speaking Spanish. During our Latin dance class, we learn one of three styles of dance: merengue, salsa or bachata. As we move our hips to the beat, we have fun dancing with each other and a variety of other students who also are attending Intercultura.
Our other class, with Professor Johnson, is a Spanish literature course that will eventually end with each of us writing and reading our own short stories. This class is more challenging, as we come to class and discuss a short story completely in Spanish each day. After class, we head home to eat dinner with our host families and talk about our days. It’s non-stop Spanish speaking until we go to bed.
As we are ending our third week here in Heredia, a suburb of the country’s capital of San José, we have experienced many different adventures. From seeing an active volcano, Póas, 
visiting a waterfall garden, taking a tour of the coffee plantation Doka (a local company near Heredia), to taking weekend trips to San José, we are not missing out on anything that Costa Rica has to offer.
In the next two weeks we are going white-water rafting on Mount Chirripó, the highest peak in Costa Rica, and making our way to Playa Sámara for a week. There, we will spend the week with another homestay family and attend classes right on the beach. When the week ends, we will make our way back to Heredia for one night and fly back to the United States on June 11.
As the Ticos say here in Costa Rica, ¡Pura Vida! (which translates to “pure life”)
Source: Flagler College
