# Why not use this sinkhole? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413 "2017-07-16T17:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/1 "2017-07-16T17:09:30Z")
The BBC have a video of a sinkhole eating two houses [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/40614958/growing-sinkhole-swallows-two-houses-in-florida). Apparently the sinkhole could be 50 feet deep. Isn’t that sufficiently shallow to be usable? Line the edges, then build an extended basement, divided between the houses on top. At 200 feet wide there’s a lot of usable area there too. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/2 "2017-07-16T17:12:12Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The BBC have a video of a sinkhole eating two houses [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/40614958/growing-sinkhole-swallows-two-houses-in-florida). > > Apparently the sinkhole could be 50 feet deep.\*\* Isn’t that sufficiently shallow to be usable?\*\* Line the edges, then build an extended basement, divided between the houses on top. At 200 feet wide there’s a lot of usable area there too. Think about why there’s a _ **sink** _hole there in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/3 "2017-07-16T17:44:11Z")
Let someone else build over The sarlacc’s den. ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/4 "2017-07-16T17:49:16Z")
In my experience these things can only be sealed by having prominent local politicians leap in like Marcus Curtius into the Gulph. For this size I would suggest Marco Curtus and Debbie Wasserman-something, holding hands. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/5 "2017-07-16T17:52:45Z")
Not a whole lot of basements in Florida. Lots of pools! These two facts are not unrelated. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/6 "2017-07-16T18:07:35Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The BBC have a video of a sinkhole eating two houses [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/40614958/growing-sinkhole-swallows-two-houses-in-florida). > > Apparently the sinkhole could be 50 feet deep. Isn’t that sufficiently shallow to be usable? Line the edges, then build an extended basement, divided between the houses on top. At 200 feet wide there’s a lot of usable area there too. [Same thing happened near me last year.](http://michiganradio.org/post/fraser-sinkhole-might-cost-residents-long-time) it’s not “usable” since a lot of sinkholes in developed areas are caused by what happened in Fraser. a big sewage pipe collapsed underground and washed away subsurface soil; then everything sitting atop it falls in. You want to build something in a raw-sewage-contaminated pit? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/7 "2017-07-16T18:13:25Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > [Same thing happened near me last year.](http://michiganradio.org/post/fraser-sinkhole-might-cost-residents-long-time) > > it’s not “usable” since a lot of sinkholes in developed areas are caused by what happened in Fraser. a big sewage pipe collapsed underground and washed away subsurface soil; then everything sitting atop it falls in. > > You want to build something in a raw-sewage-contaminated pit? This one is related to Florida’s geology and opened up where they’d tried to stabilize a sinkhole a year earlier. > [@](#): > > Drone footage showed a boat bobbing in the water-filled pit. The earth opened up to the aquifer below, Guthrie said, which explains its pond-like characteristics. A typical sinkhole would have begun to drain by now, he said, but debris has prevented it from doing so. > > Sinkhole formation starts with water. Bedrock limestone, which dominates the area, dissolves as it is exposed to acidic water from rain. That can cause the limestone to collapse, creating a sinkhole. They often occur after heavy rain. > **[Sinkhole swallows home, forces evacuations in Land O'Lakes neighborhood](https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/homes-evacuated-after-depression-forms-in-land-olakes-neighborhood/2330402/)** > > By Laura Newberry, Josh Solomon, Tony Marrero and Dan Sullivan, Times Staff Writers ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/8 "2017-07-16T18:35:49Z")
Whenever I see this, I can’t help wondering how far away the nearest fracking site is? ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/9 "2017-07-16T18:50:15Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Whenever I see this, I can’t help wondering how far away the nearest fracking site is? Actually, there isn’t any fracking in Florida yet. > **[Fracking Across the United States](https://earthjustice.org/feature/fracking-across-the-united-states)** > > Along with the unprecedented oil and gas drilling rush, have come troubling reports of poisoned drinking water, polluted air, mysterious animal deaths, industrial disasters and explosions: "Fraccidents." ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/10 "2017-07-16T19:24:30Z")
a house fell into a sinkhole and killed a guy. They never found his body , they said it was too risky to go down and look for it. think that was also in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/11 "2017-07-16T19:44:06Z")
It’s _always_ Florida. Doesn’t even matter what "it’ is. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/12 "2017-07-16T22:06:49Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > a house fell into a sinkhole and killed a guy. They never found his body , they said it was too risky to go down and look for it. think that was also in Florida. Read about that too, it was like 3 years ago or something. He was sleeping and got eaten by the hole. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/13 "2017-07-16T22:15:31Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > Read about that too, it was like 3 years ago or something. He was sleeping and got eaten by the hole. And now, wedged somewhere in the water table, Floridians slowly drink his essence like a weak tea. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/14 "2017-07-16T22:27:21Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > a house fell into a sinkhole and killed a guy. They never found his body , they said it was too risky to go down and look for it. think that was also in Florida. > [@anomalous1](#): > > Read about that too, it was like 3 years ago or something. He was sleeping and got eaten by the hole. Since he was conveniently buried in the hole, why would we need to pull him out and bury him in a different hole? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/15 "2017-07-17T02:53:03Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Whenever I see this, I can’t help wondering how far away the nearest fracking site is? 1 word. Karst. It answers all your questions ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/16 "2017-07-17T04:54:23Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The BBC have a video of a sinkhole eating two houses [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/must_see/40614958/growing-sinkhole-swallows-two-houses-in-florida). > > Apparently the sinkhole could be 50 feet deep. Isn’t that sufficiently shallow to be usable? Line the edges, then build an extended basement, divided between the houses on top. At 200 feet wide there’s a lot of usable area there too. And w/ that his last, tenuous grip on reality floated into the ether, never to be seen again. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/17 "2017-07-17T06:01:14Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > It’s _always_ Florida. > > Doesn’t even matter what "it’ is. Except when it’s Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/18 "2017-07-17T15:34:22Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > **Why not use this sinkhole?** I think you’ll find it’s not certain that there will be no further sinking. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/19 "2017-07-17T16:52:26Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I think you’ll find it’s not certain that there will be no further sinking. The article and video indicate that the hole is spreading horizontally but not vertically. So if the sides could be stabilised then it would stop spreading. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413/20 "2017-07-17T16:58:07Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The article and video indicate that the hole is spreading horizontally but not vertically. So if the sides could be stabilised then it would stop spreading. Okay, it’s not currently spreading vertically. Did the article and/or video indicate it would not sink further in the future? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-not-use-this-sinkhole/791413.md?page=2)