This drainage area along White Rock Creek is full of debris and garbage.

There may be a West Nile breeding ground in northeast Dallas. A drainage pond behind Conrad High School is overwhelmed with garbage and plastic bottles, making it a perfect place for mosquitos to multiply.

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Photo from Google Maps

It had been a quiet summer for West Nile until the last few weeks, when cases popped up in East Dallas and Lake Highlands.

These areas of Dallas are known for their lakes and creeks, which can have standing pools of water that are necessary for mosquitos, increasing the likelihood of West Nile. But an area like this exacerbates the situation.

Jeremy McMahon, a manager at the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department, says that the city lacks the proper equipment needed to effectively clean up the area. The Parks Department works with Trinity Watershed Management to help clear things out when there are logjams after floods, but the trash and bottles often get left behind after the debris is cleared.

McMahon says that there have been cleanups organized by Conrad High School and Vickery Meadow organizations in the park area near the athletic fields, but they haven’t ventured into the pond area, which is often too moist and tangled to allow for easy cleanup.

A commenter on a previous West Nile story noted that the area behind Conrad High School could be an added threat, and it seems justified.

The pond is connected to White Rock Creek, which flows directly into the north side of White Rock Lake, and seems to have caught massive amounts of garbage from the surrounding watershed. White Rock Lake continues to be one of the most used and enjoyed areas of Dallas, a favorite for runners, cyclists and rowers, but this contaminated tributary can’t be good for the future of the lake.