Sinkholes: When Sewer Repair Goes Wrong
Sinkholes are frequently a man-made problem due to things like collapsed or broken sewage pipes, buried trash, broken septic tanks, or soil that wasn’t compacted correctly after excavation work was done. A sinkhole could also indicate an area where underground sewer piping is damaged, especially if the soil is full of wastewater. They can also happen over time as old pipelines start to erode and wastewater spills out into the ground, but pipe damage can also result from subpar patching and other sewer repair mistakes.
Below is some information facts that you need to know about sinkholes and why repair services can help you to prevent them on your property.
What is a Sinkhole?
A sinkhole is a hole or depression caused by some form of collapse of the surface-layer sediment. They are also referred to as swallow holes, sinks, shake holes, swallets, dolines, and cenote, and are often as big as 2,000 feet or can be as small as a foot.
There are two types of sinkholes:
- Cover-subsidence sinkholes happen when a layer of soluble rock is worn away underground, and the soil fills it in; this results in a large depression at the surface level. These are the types of sinkholes that sometimes uncover caverns.
- Cover-collapse sinkholes happen when floods, storms, or drought remove material in the ground, which causes the surface-level sediment to collapse into the void. These sinkholes can happen extremely fast, some in minutes, and are, therefore, extremely dangerous.
Some sinkholes occur due to natural causes, while others are a direct result of human error. Out-of-use mines will frequently create large sinkholes; another cause is ineffective sewer line repairs.
If you would like to make an appointment for sewer repair, please do not hesitate to contact Alameda's H & R Plumbing Services at (510) 256-9732 now if you live in the Alameda, CA region.