TodaySinkhole swallowing LeTort Run
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Article RatingAn apparent sinkhole is draining water from a fabled local trout stream described as one of the cradles of fly fishing in America.
Just how much water is not yet known, but the recent discovery at LeTort Spring Run off Bonnybrook Road in South Middleton Township drew a quick response from area conservationists and businesses that have donated time and materials to find and plug the leak.
About six to eight members of the Cumberland Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited braved the cold Thursday morning to fill about 200 bags with crushed stone dust and place them along a 30-yard stretch of the stream bank in an attempt to slow the water loss.
Conservationists expect to use a backhoe next week to locate the throat of the sinkhole and determine its width and depth, said Gene Giza, chairman of CVTU's stream access and improvement committee.
Once found, the hole could be plugged with a mixture of concrete and bentonite, he said.
Signs of the problem can be seen along the stream bank, where water appears to flow straight into the bank or down into a 6-inch-wide hole in the streambed.
At two points nearby, the ground has sunk in. At the bottom of both pits, water can be seen trickling away from the stream.
“The fact that it all fell in there means the water is being drawn in from the creek,” said Rocky Stump, a CVTU volunteer who lives on nearby Bonnybrook Road.
The sinkhole is near the site of another large sinkhole discovered in 1995, when conservationists placed a similar plug over an 8-foot-wide area but came away saying they hadn't reached the actual void. Experts at the time were concerned that without the plug, the sinkhole could eventually swallow the entire creek.
Giza said the repair begun Thursday is a joint project of CVTU, LeTort Regional Authority and Union Quarries, whose operations are located nearby.
Giza said Union Quarries donated the crushed stone, John Gleim Excavating is donating the backhoe, and Tri-Boro Construction donated the bags.
