Does standing water and warm weather contribute to the presence of ticks?

We just discovered a couple of weeks ago that our dog has ticks. We live in an apartment complex in Chandler, AZ with a large grass area, the normal bushes and a shady area where the sprinkler/ drainage system doesn't work properly. This causes a puddle of water 6-8 in. deep that looks like a swamp. It takes anywhere from hours to days to drain and it refills whenever the apartment complex waters that area (1-2 times a day). Could this standing water be contributing to the tick problem we are having? And could this lead to other dangerous diseases for our dog?