Residents Face ‘Absolute Nightmare’ As Mosquitoes Inundate South Bay City: Report

EL SEGUNDO, CA — For weeks, some El Segundo residents have been dealing with an influx of mosquitoes, leaving them “miserable,” according to multiple media reports.

Since November, the influx of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes has made life “unbearable” for residents, NBC Los Angeles reported.

“It’s horrible. We’re living (on) no sleep. The kids are miserable,” Samantha Hedding told the TV station. “They’re going late to school because they’re up all night dealing with mosquitoes.”

Chris Pimentel, El Segundo’s mayor, told KTLA 5 that standing water left by recent rains may be to blame.

“The early rains were certainly an issue before the holidays,” Pimental told the TV station. “We saw such significant pooling from those in parts that would normally drain through the easement that was building up quite a bit of water.”

Those affected most by the infestation believe the problem stems “from a strip of land owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power,” which separates homes from LADWP’s Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Tracking the sources of the mosquito influx has proven tricky, Pimentel told ABC 7 News, adding that officials have made some progress in tackling the issue.

However, the far western portion of the city near the treatment plant continues to see an influx, Pimentel told the TV station.

“The water treatment plant, I mean, they’re dealing with 240 million gallons of water every day, so there’s a lot of liquid there,” Pimentel told ABC 7. “So, we identified some standing places there, dewatered it, treated it, there’s chemistry in there. We went up and down the greenbelt and basically removed and drained as much water as we could there.”

In a statement to FOX 11 News, Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant officials said its “Operations staff at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant are in coordination with El Segundo City officials and County Vector Control to proactively and aggressively mitigate any possible impacts from the Hyperion Plant.”

“LA City staff will continue this critical coordination to ensure the safety of El Segundo residents,” officials said in the statement.

As officials work to remedy the issue, some residents told FOX 11 News they are left living in “an absolute nightmare.”

“We invest a lot of money to live in a beautiful town like El Segundo,” Truman Hedding told the TV station. “The last thing we want is to stay up all night fighting mosquitoes.”