All of SSCAFCA’s facilities completely drain within 96 hours. The only major facility that does not completely drain is the energy dissipating structure at the Harvey Jones outlet and the section of the outlet from the Corrales Road bridge to the end of the outlet, which retains water until it can evaporate. In addition, SSCAFCA has built a half-acre wetland in Haynes Park as a demonstration project for using natural processes in water management. Wetlands can play an important role in water management, slowing water flow during flood peaks and hold it during droughts as well as helping to purify the water before it recharges local water tables.

Standing water, whether it is in the apparently decorative pond of a wetland or in the engineered holding pond of a drainage facility, always raises concerns about mosquitoes. SSCAFCA takes the broadest possible approach to mosquito control, using chemical and natural defenses as appropriate. We believe natural defenses are the better approach to long-term control wherever they can be made reliable. Where chemicals are required, SSCAFCA uses Agnique MMF pesticide spray which targets all phases of the mosquito life cycle and Altosid long-lasting dunks, which also target all phases of mosquito growth and last up to three months.

B.A.T.S “Biological Alternatives To Spraying”

Bats, birds, fish, and other insects are some of the natural predators that feed on mosquitoes and can play an important role in reducing mosquito population and insect-borne diseases. In the Haynes Park wetlands, we’ve stocked the ponds with native Gambusia fish ("mosquito fish") that eat the mosquito larvae as fast as the eggs are laid. At the outlet to the Harvey Jones, the inlet to the Harvey Jones, Tree Farm Dam A, and Dam 1 in Corrales Heights, we’ve erected “bat houses” as part of our B.A.T.S - Biological Alternatives To Spraying program.

Gambusia

Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) have been introduced into waterways by public health and mosquito control agencies throughout the world to control the breeding of nuisance mosquitoes. In watershed of the Gulf of Mexico, where they are native, they have long been known to feed readily on the aquatic larvae and pupae stages of mosquitoes. They are recognized as valuable biological control agents, and relatively easy to introduce outside their native area as they are very adaptable and hardy, being able to tolerate large temperature variations, very low oxygen saturations and high salinity, and they reproduce young and rapidly. These same characteristics, along with their natural aggression, have also made them controversial in some areas where they compete against and may displace other native species. Mindful of this concern, SSCAFCA so far has introduced them only in the closed system of the Haynes Park Wetlands, an artificial structure that had no native residents. In fact, at Haynes Park dumping of unwanted goldfish into the ponds seems to pose a threat to the Gambusia population, as the goldfish may be just as aggressive and quite a bit larger than the Gambusia! While the Gambusia are the easiest fish to introduce and maintain, many species also eat mosquitoes and may be more appropriate alternatives in other locations.

Bats

As primary predators of night-flying insects, bats consume huge quantities of insects, including mosquitoes (some species actually prefer mosquitoes), and can also be valuable biological control agents. Bats do not compete either for food or space with birds, but they do like to roost in the attics and eaves of human habitations, where they are seen as unwelcome pests, and as a result their population has been declining. “Bat houses,” artificial structures designed to attract and house bats, are increasingly used as an alternative method for insect control and to help restore bat populations near aquatic habitats. These bat houses can accommodate 50 to several hundred bats, depending on the size and the number of chambers.

A bat house construction program was started in the Village of Corrales by Mr. Jim McCaulley to help private residents erect “bat houses” as an ecological alternative for insect (mosquito) control during the summer months. In 2002, Mr. McCaulley approached SSCAFCA to see if there was any interest in participating in the program. SSCAFCA welcomed the program and became involved on an experimental basis by erecting the two bat houses at the outlet to the Harvey Jones. Later we added additional bat houses at the inlet to the Harvey Jones, Tree Farm Dam A and Dam 1 in Corrales Heights.

Initial results were disappointing as no bats were attracted to the houses. Moving the houses into a shady area to reduce the thermal load might make them a little more inviting and we continue to experiment with this method of control. It will be several years before we can accurately assess the success of the bat house program.

SSCAFCA did get bats for the first time at the Harvey Jones Channel inlet and outlet in the Village of Corrales. To learn more about the bat project, visit the Rio Grande Basin Bat Project website at http://www.riograndebasinbats.com/ or contact Michelle McCaulley .

SSCAFCA continues to explore all alternatives to provide mosquito control and is committed to implementing the most effective and environmentally safe methods available.