Lake vanishes almost overnight; sinkhole drains man-made body of water near St. Louis

Associated Press ^ | June 11, 2004 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Lake vanishes almost overnight

Sinkhole drains man-made body of water near St. Louis

09:05 PM CDT on Friday, June 11, 2004

Associated Press

WILDWOOD, Mo. – To people around Wildwood, it is nothing but freaky: an entire 23-acre lake vanished in a matter of days, as if someone pulled the plug on a bathtub.

Lake Chesterfield went down a sinkhole this week, leaving homeowners in this affluent St. Louis suburb wondering whether their property values disappeared along with their lakeside views.

"It's real creepy," said Donna Ripp, who lives near what had been Lake Chesterfield. "That lake was 23 acres – no small lake. And to wake up one morning, drive by and it's gone?"

What once was an oasis for waterfowl and sailboats was nothing but a muddy, crackled pit outlined by rotting fish.

The sight had 74-year-old George English scratching his head.

"It's disheartening, getting out on your deck and seeing this," he said as he stood next to wife, Betty, and the "lakeside" condominium they bought in 1996 for its view. "One day it's a beautiful lake and now, bingo, it's gone."

Sam Leone/St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Residents of Wildwood, Mo., are concerned about their property values now that the 23-acre Lake Chesterfield is nothing more than a muddy indentation.

Some residents said they noticed that the lake, after being swelled by torrential rains weeks earlier, began falling last weekend. The Englishes said they noticed the drop-off Monday.

By Wednesday, the man-made lake – normally seven to 10 feet deep in spots – had been reduced to a mucky, stinky mess.

David Taylor, a geologist who inspected the lake bed Wednesday, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the sinkhole was formed when water eroded the limestone deep underground and created pockets in the rock. The sinkhole was "like a ticking time bomb."

The lake and surrounding housing development date to the late 1980s. The development now includes more than 670 condominiums and houses, about one-tenth of them bordering the lake.

Because the lake is private property, the subdivision's residents will have to cover the cost of fixing it, probably through special property assessments. Mr. English expects it to cost $1,000 a household.

It is a price Mr. English said he is willing to pay. He just wants the unsightly pit gone, either by refilling it with water or dumping enormous amounts of dirt into it to create green space or usable land.

"I think it'll come back again," he said. "You have to hope they can fix it."

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/061204dnnatsinkhole.29cc.html

[nuconvert]

That's a bummer

[Polybius]

Some residents said they noticed that the lake, after being swelled by torrential rains weeks earlier, began falling last weekend...

If they think they have problems now, wait until the water-table falls during the next dry season.

[tacticalogic]

How close is this to the New Madrid fault? Is this a precursor for another BIG ONE?

New Madrid's down near the bootheel. I don't think it had anything to do with this.

[mewzilla]

Any seismic activity in the area, though?

[11th Earl of Mar]

They can plug it for $1000 per household?

That would be $1000 very well spent.

[Arrowhead1952]

Someone poured too much of this into the lake.

[R. Scott]

Mr. English expects it to cost $1,000 a household.

Not that high an assessment for an affluent household to pay to overcome Mother Nature.

Alright. Who pulled the plug ??

God?

[R. Scott]

At first it was just a small opening, but as the water began to rush through it, the hole began to enlarge itself. More water rushed through, making the hole still larger, until finally it was big enough to engulf barges, tugboats, and the drilling rig that had begun the whole thing.

OOPS!!!

[SoftballMominVA]

This area is often called Chesterfield and is in West St. Louis County. It is predominantly liberal; however it is right by St. Charles and St. Peters which are largely Repubican.

My sister lives in a neighboring subdivision. According to her, the talk is to see if the gov'ment might possibly chip in to help. Typical isn't it?

[tacticalogic]

Not that I've heard about.

[Catspaw]

That has got to stink to high heaven. Rotting fish--eeeoooow.

[mewzilla]

How smart was it to make a man-made lake on top of a limestone bed? And even if they fix it, won't this just happen again?

[Xenalyte]

Lake vanishes almost overnight

Well, she did lose quite a bit, but I don't know if I'd characterize it as almost vanishing overnight.

before

after

[tacticalogic]

Depends on how stable it is. Limestone seems to have a wide variance of consistency, at least around here.

[cripplecreek]

You should run a search of the story. People saw some once in a lifetime sights that day.

Persionally i would have loved to see the 1,100 foot gyeser comming from the mouth of the salt mine as it filled from the other end.

[steplock]

If this works like anything else a lawyer gets his slimy hands on, they will SUE their insurance company who will most likely pay and charge the rest of us who are not so stupid as to buy homes in unstable, dangerous areas.

Demand your insurance company quit "spreading the risk" nationwide to pay off other lawyers , judges and politicians who want their beach-front mansions in hurricane areas and want us to pay for them.

[mewzilla]

Thanks!

And here's a link to a FL state gov. sinkhole brochure. Pretty interesting.

[tacticalogic]

And even if they fix it, won't this just happen again?

Yep. They might dump enough bentonite in it to plug it up, but the water will find it's way back out again. It's just a question of how long.

[mewzilla]

Nature happens :)