'It's a nightmare': Mosquito outbreak at popular park divides council as residents left bleeding

A Perth councillor is in a standoff with council over a mosquito and midge outbreak at a popular park that is leaving residents bleeding from bites.

High levels of rainfall have caused water to pool up in low-lying areas at Warradale Park in Landsdale, north of the CBD, since late September.

The water has failed to recede, with its stagnant nature providing an ideal environment for mosquitoes and midges at the nearby lake to breed.

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Councillor Hugh Nguyen said he received reports that children were being bitten and the water was causing a foul odour from concerned residents.

He inspected the swales and found dozens of larvae, mosquitoes and midges.

"It gave me goosebumps when I was down there looking at it, because it's like maggots," he said.

"It's a nightmare."

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The stagnant water has also made a playground built in memory of two-year-old Sam Trott, who drowned after wandering from his home in Landsale in 2014, unusable.

Nguyen raised the issue with the City of Wanneroo, saying immediate action is needed to protect residents from being bitten.

"We're faced with an outbreak and the last thing we want is for mosquito-borne diseases to be breaking out in the community," he said.

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The City of Wanneroo said it was treating the water with a state government-approved chemical to disrupt the life cycle.

"The City continues to monitor the site and will take further action if required," a council spokesperson said.

"As the area dries out, some odour may occur due to the natural decomposition of organic matter.

"The City does not typically manage odour from wetlands and water bodies, as this is a natural process."

The council is also investigating long-term solutions.

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But Nguyen said the chemical has failed to work due to continued rainfall and the growing number of larvae.

"So right up until now, we are still getting this outbreak, and kids are getting bitten.

"The whole suburbs being affected, and even the adjacent suburbs, Darch and Madeley, are also being affected."

Nguyen is calling for immediate action, like draining the water out, to protect residents while the council works on a long-term solution.

"The City has got to do something now," he said.

"There is, at the very basic level, a duty of care owed by the city to the residents.

"How do you expect residents to just put up with the smell for possibly months. I don't know how long it's going to take for these swales to dry up naturally, because there's quite a bit of water in there."

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Nguyen will move a motion at the next council meeting later this month to request council urgently remove the water from the swales.

He will also write to Landsdale MP Daniel Pastorelli and Health Minister Meredith Hammat to bring their attention to the matter.

"It's not being taken seriously at all," he said.

"All we need is just a solution. We don't care what it is, but the option of leaving the water there to dry and evaporate by itself is not an option from the community's perspective."

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