HOUSTON — There is a large sinkhole threatening to swallow a Houston family’s home. Juanita and Revis Laws say every time it rains the hole gets bigger and although the city of Houston has been out to access it, the sinkhole continues to grow.
It opened up about six months ago behind an east Houston home that sits along Hunting Bayou on Autmnwood Drive. The estimated size is 20-feet deep and 50-feet across at the largest point.
“The ground’s just washing away,” Revis said. “It’s a very large sinkhole and it’s unsafe.”
The Laws say this isn’t an entirely new problem; since the 80s, small sinkholes have opened up near their property. Usually, the city comes out, fills them in and they are ok for a couple of years. However, the past sinkholes were the size of a car, according to the Laws, nothing like the one they’re dealing with now.
Residents say the issue is a drainage pipe that supposed to dump water in the bayou, however, say it has collapsed and is now dumping water into the ground instead.
“Every time it rains the hole gets a lot larger. You just can’t really enjoy or use your property because it’s a dangerous environment.”
According to the Laws, they’ve called the City and 311 several times over the past six months regarding the giant sinkhole, saying city workers came out, inspected the sinkhole and put up some barriers.
“They said they were in a planning process, figuring out how to approach it. And I’m just at the mercy of their time schedule and it’s not a comfortable situation.”
Revis says that was two months ago. Since then, the sinkhole has gotten larger, their fence has been partially swallowed along with some of their backyard. A power pole is tipping over and the children who live in the home are no longer allowed to play outside.
“There just seems to be no sense of urgency,” said Juanita, “I was told, ‘Well, just keep the kids away from it.'"
The ground is crumbling beneath their feet and the Laws just want someone to fix it.
“The hole is too large. They need to get it resolved permanently.”
Public Works released the following statement on Thursday night:
“Houston Public Works is dispatching a crew to secure the site and investigate the cause. At this time, we are looking at Hunting Bayou, stormwater and wastewater lines as potential causes of a sinkhole in this general area.”