Patti Dozier
THOMASVILLE — Southern Thomas County, including flood-plagued Plantation Woods subdivision, has a high potential for more sinkhole-related hazards, according to a Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) study.
A sinkhole opened on the night of Aug. 28 beside a Plantation Woods residence following torrential rain delivered by Tropical Storm Fay in and along Hammonds Slough.
The sinkhole, now about 75 feet in diameter, swallowed several large trees and has drained several times. On Thursday morning, the sinkhole at 281 Water Oak Lane was filled with murky, greenish, foul-smelling water. Edges of the sinkhole continue to cave in.
The collapse — where a family’s driveway used to be — is about a foot from the residence. The family that lived in the house has moved to North Carolina.
Golf bags in the garage, dead potted plants on a patio and a shoe on the front porch are the only outdoor signs that anyone ever lived in the house. The flood deposited four feet of water in the structure.
“This thing filled up and went dry four times within five hours. It never emptied the last time it filled up,” said Capt. John Richards, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office chief of operations.
Richards, surveying the sinkhole Thursday, pointed out trees that continue to topple into the cavity.
The DNR study says Google Map and Google Earth show several small sinkholes that are not visible on a Thomasville map.
Additional sinkholes will form in the Plantation Woods area, particularly during times of drought and heavy rain, the study shows.
According to the report, the sinkhole probably will drain again when trees, root masses and collapsed earth settle into the underlying limestone cavern.
“Gravity and likely continued erosion by surface water runoff will cause the hole to enlarge laterally and further undermine the foundation of the house,” the study says.
The report shows that Water Oak Lane is in no immediate danger, but it is recommended road conditions be monitored carefully, particularly if heavy rain occurs.
The study suggests a subsurface exploration along the road’s right of way — in the near future — to determine the solidity of underlying soils and bedrock.
A study by a Georgia Department of Transportation geologist shows the sinkhole probably was caused by a cavity that formed over time. The sinkhole formed when the cavity was overwhelmed by flooding.
Lime overwhelmed by the flood has affected drainage of the sinkhole, the study shows.
DOT has provided Thomas County emergency management with a detail for repair of the sinkhole.
“We recommended that the sinkhole be repaired in light of more heavy rains or storms that can occur in the future and cause the sinkhole to widen,” the DOT study said.
Meanwhile, county government officials have learned that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance is not available to Thomas County individuals harmed by the storm.
Thomas County needed for 100 uninsured houses to have been destroyed by the storm or to have sustained storm damage to be eligible for individual assistance.
Thomas County had 17 homes with damage.
Several houses in the subdivision off U.S. 19 South had several feet of water in them as a result of Fay.
A group of Plantation Woods residents asked county commissioners for help last week. The group expressed concerns about the sinkhole.
Thomas County has no provisions for going on private property, county manager Mike Stephenson explained.
Federal and state emergency management personnel were in Thomasville two weeks ago to gather Fay damage figures.
“They met with city and county staff to go over our damage estimates,” Stephenson said.
Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 220.
