U.S. Water News Online
GEORGETOWN, Texas -- After sewage spilled into a swimming hole near here, more than 100 people reported becoming ill, Williamson County officials said.
About 75,000 gallons of wastewater spilled into a creek that feeds the San Gabriel River, sending sewage into Blue Hole. Officials closed the swimming hole after learning that lift station pumps weren't turning on.
At last count, 116 people had reported gastrointestinal symptoms of nausea, vomiting, fever and diarrhea, said Dr. Ed Sherwood, medical director of the Williamson County & Cities Health District.
Georgetown officials said that Blue Hole would be closed for about a week.
Sherwood, who estimates that no more than 1,000 people were exposed to the contaminated water, said nobody has gone to the hospital or been seriously ill.
He said the most common symptom of exposure to fecal-contaminated water is gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and the intestines resulting in vomiting or diarrhea.
"I think we're probably past the peak of that, and we may see very little additional illness from this point on," he said.
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