Low water levels and health hazards (San Antonio, Uvalde: pool, activities, park)

[wCat]

This very small article has a HUGE health threat warning in it, not just for Bandera, but all of San Antonio and South Texas during this drought.

River bacteria force park closure (http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/River_bacteria_force_park_closure.html - broken link)

I'm really surprised that the news has not had more stories that warn swimmers about low and stagnant water levels. E coli is only ONE of the serious bacterial threats in hot, stagnant natural bodies of water. There were some terrible stories from two years ago in Georgia and the Southern states when they were experiencing that severe drought where swimmers were seriously ill from being exposed to bacteria in this kind of situation.

There may be warnings on the CDC site about protecting children and anyone from recreational activities or swimming in low water levels.

I apologize in advance if the news has covered this, but if they haven't they are neglecting an urgent warning to the residents in this area.

[dmmjsm]

Good post. I can remember years ago people getting deathly sick and a couple dying from water that was too hot/low/stagnant in Oklahoma. I am surprised this hasn't been a bigger concern this year.

[Dopo]

Doesn't take an Einstein to know that the less water you have
> the less the water flows > the more dead fish and animals floating > the more bacteria you are gonna find in lakes

[sapphire]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Doesn't take an Einstein to know that the less water you have
> the less the water flows > the more dead fish and animals floating > the more bacteria you are gonna find in lakes

The point is to raise awareness, not to compare IQ's. It should be a responsibility of the public (read: NOT EVERYONE IS AS SMART AS YOU, DOPO) health department to let people know of the dangers.

Thanks for posting this, WCat. My ex-boss got extremely sick after running through some shallow water near Uvalde. He picked up some sort of parasite through a tiny cut he had on his ankle. Losing 10 pounds in 2 days is pretty awful.

[firstclassflyer]

Originally Posted by sapphire

The point is to raise awareness, not to compare IQ's. It should be a responsibility of the public (read: NOT EVERYONE IS AS SMART AS YOU, DOPO) health department to let people know of the dangers.

Ahemmmm....

http://bestsmileys.com/mooners/2.gif (broken link)

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by sapphire

The point is to raise awareness, not to compare IQ's.

Sorry for expecting people to think for 1 second that if there's a drought and they go to a river or a lake they are gonna be swimming in a pool of water that's been sitting there for months.

[wCat]

Originally Posted by Dopo

Sorry for expecting people to think for 1 second that if there's a drought and they go to a river or a lake they are gonna be swimming in a pool of water that's been sitting there for months.

It doesn't even have to be stagnant. It can be running water at warm temps. Small pockets that dam up along river banks and in boggy areas in ponds and lakes can also be problems.

Dopo, not sure why you want to pick a bone with a public health concern. Teens and young adults or even supervised children could be playing in these very water sources. It's summer...and a scorcher, and a LOT of people are out looking for shade and water. That's also a no brainer. Let's just take a pro-active approach and make sure the public is aware....and to warn parents and teens and the general public about wandering in off beaten areas in search of a little oasis.

[FamilyTexas]

Thanks for posting this. Common sense, perhaps. But I hadn't thought much about it and we have friends that go to the lakes/rivers nearly every weekend.

[shoe01]

Was it 2006 when two people died at Lake LBJ after swimming in warm, stagnant water? I'd imagine the water quality is even worse now.