CASTROVILLE - A Castroville sewage pump stopped working Thursday afternoon, spilling raw sewage into the Medina River but the area's drinking water was not harmed. "Our water supply is not in danger," Castroville Mayor Bob Hancock said Thursday night. "If people drink out of the river, they should not. If they swim in the river, they should not."  At about 1:15 p.m., the second of two sewage pumps failed, Hancock said. The other pump had been shut down for routine maintenance work.  Hancock said the city was testing the river for contamination and the pump problem would be fixed by early today.

CASTROVILLE - Three sewage pump failures allowed about 35,000 gallons of untreated waste to flow into the Medina River before repairs were completed Friday on the facilities owned by the city of Castroville  "We're back to normal," said City Administrator Ronnie Rand. Tom Haberle of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission said high river flows diluted the sewage that seeped from a manhole on Algiers Avenue. As a precaution, he advised those downstream to avoid contact with the river until Sunday. Rand said problems began last Sunday when a lift station pump failed, as did two backup pumps Thursday, causing the sewage to overflow.

A burst sewer main spewed thousands of gallons of raw sewage through a South Side creek and into the San Antonio River on Saturday, killing fish and threatening other wildlife. Representatives of several city and state agencies were working to contain the dangerous spill late Saturday, but officials said it could be days before the situation is under control and the environmental impact accurately assessed. A 3-foot plume of sewage poured into Piedras Creek just south of Stinson

A faulty pump is being blamed for treated sewage flowing from the Leon Creek TreatTreatment ment Plant into an unnamed creek that ultimately feeds the Medina River, officials confirmed Monday. The amount of sludge that has spilled and costs to repair the pump were not immediately known, officials said. "We don't like for these things to happen, but this city had more severe problems when we had a shortage of facilities than with the spill we are having now,"

City leaders want to clean up the Medina River to satisfy a $9,375 fine by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission for chronic waste storage problems at the municipal sewage treatment plant. "We're trying to keep the money here and use it for something, rather than paying a fine," City Administrator Don Reddout said. The City Council adopted a resolution Monday proposing the river cleanup. And City Attorney Steve Kosub raised the issue Tuesday in a

The San Antonio Water System has decided to buy a narrow tract of land near a sewage-treatment plant after complaints of odors from adjacent landowners. SAWS trustees approved the purchase of the 18.75-acre tract Tuesday. To alleviate and prevent complaints of odors by adjacent landowners, trustees authorized buying the tract stretching from Valley Road to the Medina River on the west side of the Dos Rios Water Recycling Center. Roland Smith and Wayne Weiss sold the land for

The city- owned water utility company estimates damage to its system from the Oct. 17 flood at $2.2 million. And while the last major sewage leak was fixed Friday night, the surface water treatment plant still is off-line. A broken 16-inch sewage main that ran under the Guadalupe River at Rio Drive had been spewing 2 million gallons a day of raw sewage into the river. "That leak is stopped completely," New Braunfels Utility General Manager Paula DiFonzo said. "

Four million gallons of raw sewage that spilled into Rosillo Creek this week should be cleaned up by tonight, the San Antonio Water System said. The spill, said SAWS service center superintendent Art Dietel, occurred after someone using heavy construction equipment damaged an above-ground manhole on a utility easement on the east side of the almost-dry creek near Sulphur Springs Road. "The sewage has been confined to Rosillo Creek, where we've built four dams to contain

AUSTIN - Williamson County health officials have received more than 300 phone calls from people reporting illness since a raw sewage spill contaminated water in a suburban area north of here. Rita Fuentes, the county's communicable disease nurse, said she has been swamped with calls from people reporting symptoms that varied from diarrhea and vomiting to nausea and headaches. The spill of 170,000 gallons of raw sewage into Brushy Creek came after a city of Austin pumping station

NEW BRAUNFELS - Splashing, swimming and tubing once again are approved activities on the Comal River as officials reported Tuesday that sewage contamination of the tourist attraction has been controlled. "There are always some bacteria in the water, and river users anywhere should exercise good judgment in choosing to enjoy (the river)," said Paula DiFonzo, general manager of New Braunfels Utilities. "The (fecal) counts are at an acceptable level. We will continue to

Tubing along two miles of the Comal River, including the Prince Solms Park Tube Chute, remained on hold Monday as official tests indicated contamination remains from last week's sewage spill into the waterway. "We are conducting tests every four hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.," Jeff Thompson, assistant general manager of New Braunfels Utilities, said Monday. "The test results are very much improved, but are still not adequate to reopen the river." The popular

A portion of the Comal River, including a popular tube chute in New Braunfels, will remain closed at least through today while authorities continue to clean up last week's sewage spill. A 21-inch sewer main at North Walnut Avenue and Eikel Street in New Braunfels broke Wednesday, sending 60,000 gallons of raw sewage into the dry Comal Creek. Tests results Thursday indicated some of the sewage had reached the Comal River. The two-mile inner tubing stretch from the Wurstfest

Two miles of the Comal River, including the Prince Solms Park tube chute in New Braunfels, will be closed to the public at least through today because of a 60,000- gallon spill of raw sewage into the dry Comal Creek earlier this week. The spill from a 21-inch main sewer line at North Walnut Avenue and Eikel Street Wednesday was thought to have been contained by an earthen dam until tests Thursday showed some sewage had reached the Comal River. "We erected a temporary barrier on the