Neighbors on a quiet Homer Avenue cul-de-sac in Sabal Chase Village were in a wait-and-see mode Wednesday morning after a sizable sinkhole opened up at the curb line of Lee and Susan Morris’ home Tuesday afternoon.
The chasm, estimated at about 8 feet x 8 feet by about 20 feet deep dropped down in a grassy area, and although the opening extends under the driveway, the pavement is still intact.
“We are hoping to save our driveway, and that this depression doesn’t open up any further — we are concerned about our house,” homeowner Lee Morris said.
“Everything was fine Tuesday morning when we left the street around 9:30 a.m.,” Susan Morris said, “and my next door neighbor, Joanne Long, who went out around 10 a.m. didn’t notice anything wrong — but then The Villages Community Watch people called us around 2:30 p.m., and asked us if we could come home, because there was a depression near our driveway.”
Gary Seyler, a retired Harley-Davidson plant engineer from York, Pa., who lives two doors from the Morrises, noted the hole is near the underground irrigation, water and gas lines.
“At first, I thought there might have been a leak, but things look pretty dry down there,” Seyler observed. “A few years ago, we had another depression right here in the street,” he continued, pointing to a darker square patch in the asphalt. “They filled it in, and it hasn’t been a problem. I’ve had a lot of experience with sinkholes. We used to have them at least once a year on our 180 acre Harley manufacturing property in Pennsylvania — often in the parking lot. They can be very small or very large — and they can happen anywhere there is limestone bedrock — which we have all over Florida.”
“Just look at Florida — and all the lakes we have. Most of them are round — most of them are sinkholes that filled in with water. This land formed over millions of years,” Seyler continued, “and sinkholes occur as part of the natural processes — we just happen to encroach on this by building our houses on top of the land.”
Community Watch and Villages Public Safety reassured The Morrises things would be OK. They were provided with the name of experts, who will be out later today to assess the damage and start filling in the sinkhole. “They seemed very knowledgeable,” Susan Morris said, “so I would say we are all concerned but not upset or worried. We are confident things will be handled.” The Morrises just have questions about whether the problem will be covered by insurance.
