On Sept. 29, a thread on r/festivals collected first‑hand accounts from people who say the infamous “mud” at Woodstock ’99 was often runoff from overflowing toilets and porta‑potty failures — not just rain‑soaked dirt.
What attendees said
- Several users who attended described muck that smelled and felt like human waste.
- Posts blamed extreme heat, overwhelmed sanitation crews and stalled porta‑potty servicing.
- Many people reported diving and playing in the mud, later realizing it was contaminated.
Why it matters
Commenters connected sanitation breakdowns to larger problems at the festival — lack of water stations, strained crowd control and the unrest that marked Woodstock ’99. These on‑the‑ground recollections add details that formal reports can miss.
Takeaways
- For organizers: Adequate sanitation planning, regular servicing and plentiful water access are essential for health and safety.
- For festivalgoers: Know where water and medical stations are, and be alert to infrastructure risks at crowded, multi‑day events.
Source: r/festivals (original poster u/kooneecheewah). Read the thread on Reddit. For background on the event’s wider issues, see Woodstock 1999.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/festivals/comments/1ntjv5f/at_woodstock_99_people_dove_and_played_in_what/