Family Says Swimming in Lake Belton Made Them Sick
Ahh, the summer trip to the lake. We all do it if we are lucky enough to live near a fun swimming hole as is the case here in Bell County.
Growing up in Illinois, we had relatives who lived near a lake called Cedar Lake. I've never seen so much seaweed in my life. My siblings and I would call it Lake Seaweed. They had some pretty fun waterslides and floats you could rent, but as I kid I always thought the creature from the Swamp Thing lived in that lake.
Fast forward to gorgeous Central Texas and Lake Belton in 2019. I love being so close to Lake Belton and Stillhouse Lake and just watching folks fish and have fun on their boats. Plus you don't feel like you just swam through a bog. In the years I've lived here this is the first case of someone reporting swimming in Lake Belton made them sick.
News 10 reports that James Hernandez says his family's visit to Cedar Ridge Park on Lake Belton made all of them very sick. That's James plus six family members! Hernandez thinks it was the water of Lake Belton that caused the illness.
Now, Bell County Health Department says nobody has been able to definitively connect any illness associated with swimming in the lake. Nor in this case, has anyone outside of Hernandez come forward publicly. He says the trouble started with his son who got sick hours after swimming in the water. He says his son did swallow some water while swimming. Hernandez says the other family members in the water all started suffering from vomiting and diarrhea after their day at the lake. No information was available regarding the expiration date on the potato salad at lunch.
Hernandez says he has heard privately from other folks who have visited the lake and say they have had the same symptoms after visiting Cedar Ridge Park and going swimming.
Have you been swimming in this area yet this summer? Have you experienced any symptoms after swimming there? We would love to know if there are more residents who are concerned. We've heard from plenty of people who also visited the lake that weekend and spent time in the water in that same area. They all claim to be just fine.