After a nasty parasite outbreak at a popular swimming spot in Fort Worth, many may want to know just how safe is their own pool.

In the case of illnesses that arose in Burger's Lake swimmers, tests revealed crytposporidium, which Dr. Anita Kurian said likely came from "t he feces from an infected human or infected animal."

"I had excessive diarrhea for about three days, vomiting [and] stomach cramps," said Richard Norton, one of the Burger's Lake visitors who became ill.

Jennava Rausch said she was another one hit with some not so pleasant symptoms.

"We went there for a birthday party, we left with an unpleasant present," she said.

Strictly as a precaution, both Fort Worth and Arlington recently shocked their pools with chlorine.

News 8 checked health records, collected water from four area pools and did some tests as well. A lab conducted a common test for the presence of feces.

In Dallas, News 8 visited Kidd Springs and Jaycee Zaragoza. In Irving, stops were made at the Northwest Pool. And in Fort Worth, samples were taken from Sylvania Park. The tests determined all the pools were clean.

Running one's own tests is probably unrealistic. So, how can one be sure that their neighborhood pool is clean and safe? That's a job for the local health department, which licenses public pools.

In Fort Worth, outdoor public pools are inspected for health and safety in the spring and summer.

"There are a lot of things we check," said Melea Fisher, with the Fort Worth Health Department.

In communities across North Texas, pools do fail inspections and are sometimes closed until they come into compliance. Usually, when closed down, it's for good reasons.

When people get into a pool, they bring dirt and fecal coliform with them. It's on their body.

E-mail dschechter@wfaa.com