Cleaning for pigeon droppings damages county office

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The droppings from a pigeon infestation or any other bird infestation can cause serious damage and hazards if it’s not taken care of quickly. Unfortunately, the Valencia County Clerk’s office found this out the hard way after attempting to have eight years worth of accumulated pigeon droppings removed from the courthouse roof.

Jane Moorman, Valencia Count News-Bulletin.com
August 25, 2004

Los Lunas – The Valencia County Clerk’s office was closed all-day Monday and Tuesday afternoon after efforts to remove eight years of accumulated pigeon droppings from the courthouse roof caused a water leak and created an unsafe work environment.

With the onset of the rainy season, the staff in the clerk’s office has reported experiencing increasing discomfort from the stench of wet pigeon droppings. Two employees have reported health problems from breathing the air.

“When we looked into the problem, we discovered it has been eight years since the roof was cleaned,” County Manager Mike Trujillo said of the waste from the large colony of pigeons. “So, Saturday, one of our volunteer fire departments washed off the roof.”

During the cleaning, the pressurized water from the fire hose drove a skylight up and allowed the water and droppings to flood the clerk’s office.

“No records were damaged, but it did hit a computer monitor, keyboard and typewriter that were on a desk below the skylight,” said Trujillo. “The fire department staff did not have a key to the clerk’s office to see if there was any damage on Saturday.”

On Monday morning, when Deputy Clerk Sally Perea arrived at work, she found a mess of blackened droppings and water-soaked carpet.

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