Evacuations continue in Georgetown after natural gas leak

GEORGETOWN — Annette Robinson, who provides personal care at her home for three women with Alzheimer's disease, said Atmos Energy workers knocked on her door at 10 p.m. Monday, telling her that her family and the patients had to evacuate immediately.

"They said they found some natural gas seeping from sewage lines running between me and a daycare," she said. "I had to wake the ladies up and throw stuff in bags. It was awful," she said.

Robinson's business was one of 61, along with 30 homes, near Williams Drive and River Bend in Georgetown that have been evacuated so Atmos Energy could release trapped natural gas in the soil after a leak was repaired, according to a release from the city Tuesday night.

Atmos Energy did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday about when people would be allowed back into their homes and businesses. A customer service representative said the company was paying for hotel rooms for those evacuated.

The initial incident involved two gas leaks within 100 feet of each other and happened at 10:45 a.m. Feb. 21 at the intersection of River Bend and Oak Lane, according to a pipeline safety incident notification the company made to the Texas Railroad Commission. Both leaks have been repaired, the notice said.

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"The Railroad Commission is monitoring the situation to ensure Atmos is complying with agency rules in place to eliminate the hazardous conditions and protect public safety," said Ramona Nye, a commission spokeswoman. "The RRC will also determine if Atmos was in violation of RRC rules resulting in the leaks."

Robinson said the energy company was paying for her and her husband to stay at the Candlewood Suites in Georgetown. A representative at the hotel declined to comment about how many evacuees it was hosting. The Holiday Inn Express has had about 40 evacuees at its hotel since Feb. 25, a representative said Wednesday.

Although the initial leaks were repaired, the area has soil conditions that slow the ventilation of gas, city officials said. Atmos Energy is ventilating the soil, the city's release said.

David Hood, the co-owner of a daycare called the Leaps and Bounds Learning Center, said Wednesday that energy workers had drilled about 100 small holes around the facility on Golden Oaks Drive. He said he was in "complete despair" when the energy company told him and his wife, Kristin Hood, a co-owner of the center, that they had to evacuate Friday.

By 3 p.m. Tuesday, he had rented an event room at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the daycare was open for business again on Wednesday, he said. "Atmos has paid for everything and then some," he said.

People affected by the evacuations can call Atmos Energy at 888-992-8667. Representatives from the Holiday Inn Express at 431 Interstate 35 North in Georgetown are also available from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 512-591-7890 to talk those affected.