Oxford Sinkhole Tops Local News for 2018
The biggest Six Rivers news story of 2018 was clearly the sinkhole in Oxford. What started as a small depression in the ground soon consumed the imagination of an entire community as ground, trees, and picnic tables began to disappear into the growing hole.
It all started when a wedding party noticed a dip in the ground near the Oxford Lion’s Club facility. A picnic table was placed over the impression to keep people from tripping. Within days, tripping was the least of concerns.
On August 20th, a loud sound of rushing water was followed by the collapse of a large area of the park. A pit opened about 15 metres wide and 10 metres deep. BY 8:00 pm, police and firefighters cleared the scene, evacuated the Lions Club, and closed the park.
On the 22nd, officials erected a fence around the hole and pondered their next steps in what became a guessing game with nature.
With cracks appearing almost daily, officials decided on the 26th to remove the playground equipment. Fearing the hole might continue to grow, saving the equipment seemed an appropriate preventative measure.
Meanwhile, the Regional Emergency Measures Organization (REMO) was marking and measuring cracks reaching out from the hole. By all accounts, the instability suggested the parking lot and the Lions Club were most likely in the path if the sinkhole continued to expand.
Town officials began to reach out to the province and the federal government, but at that point, neither government qualified the event as an emergency.
People began to learn that sinkholes were common around Oxford. The area was riddled with salt and gypsum deposits which are water soluble and commonly led to depressions or sinkholes. In fact, the popular swimming facility at Salt Lake had also been formed for a sinkhole.
By September 1st the hole had grown to 36.2m by 38.7m, and the water level in the hole rose about 6cm. The 100th anniversary of the Oxford Exhibition was drawing large crowds who first visited the now-closed Lions Parkland. Stop and go traffic in front of the park led to numerous fender benders and fears that someone might get seriously hurt. The REMO fenced off the entire area, posted security, and monitored a broad no admittance policy, keeping the public away from immediate danger.
A regional geologist from the Department of Energy and Mines spent a number of days at the site as part of the REMO team. Amy Tizzard, of Oxford, was very guarded about making any kind of prediction. She said, "Not very many people have actually seen one of these developing, so we are learning as we go." She added, "As long as we see additional propagation cracks in the ground, we know this thing isn't done.”
Meanwhile, the federal government turned down the town’s request for help. The senior level of government could not yet describe the crisis as an “emergency”, so they deferred requests to qualified companies in the private sector. The town responded by saying the costs were beyond the capacity of the small town.
On September the 7th, REMO officials admitted they feared for Main Street, the main access to the town from the Trans Canada Highway. New cracks were found in the paved area, just 22 metres from the street.
That news renewed fears for the adjacent businesses, including Tim Hortons and the Irving Service Station. Officials were particularly concerned for the underground storage of gasoline and diesel fuel.
For the first time, residents were encouraged to think about alternate ways to get around the town, suggesting that the Main Street access might be closed.
The public was barred from entering the park which was under 24-hour video surveillance. People were warned that trespassers would be prosecuted under the Protection of Property Act.
The Member of Parliament for the area paid a visit on September 10th. Bill Casey wanted to see for himself and some hoped he could convince his federal colleagues that the sinkhole was indeed an emergency worthy of government help.
Rain was beginning to play a role in the growing fears, as officials worried that heavy rainfall might lead to increased erosion and cave-ins around the hole.
The REMO team was applauded for keeping the public informed with daily updates, but the time had come for a public meeting to deal with rumours and provide all the information possible to a public hungry for facts. The open house took place on September 20th at the old Oxford Theatre.
Garth DeMont from the Environmental Geology Division of the Department of Energy and Mines provided a detailed description of what it takes to create a sinkhole and why Oxford is riddled with them. However, he did not have enough information to predict what might happen. He said further testing was needed to allow officials to determine possible next steps.
Meanwhile, the town was faced with huge estimates for geophysical studies that might provide the information the specialists were seeking. The town was quietly working with the province to fund the needed tests.
However, a small Dartmouth company offered to conduct ground penetrating radar tests at a reasonable cost. As it turned out, those tests were not conclusive.
Rachel Jones, the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer, says, “This is a moving target. It’s going to depend on what the tests show us.” However, it was generally agreed that repair and remediation is clearly beyond the capacity of either the Oxford Lions Club or the Town.
While there were no definitive answers at the public meeting, a local panel made every effort to answer questions from the public and people went home more comfortable than when they came.
At its regular monthly meeting on September 24th, Mayor Trish Stewart reported she met with the Minister of Municipal Affairs who invited the town to formally ask for support. The province wanted hard numbers on the expenses the town had paid and what might be needed to bring the crisis to a conclusion.
The town continued to provide regular updates on the physical conditions at the sinkhole. On October 17th they were given the disappointing results of the ground penetrating radar tests. REMO Director Mike Johnson reported that the salt content in the ground and the sinkhole water tended to deflect the radar so results were too limited to provide the details on the size and depth of the hole. It was noted that a Plan “B” might go deeper but the $110 thousand dollar price tag meant the town would need the province.
A short press release on November 2nd suggests very little change in activity around the sinkhole. However, the site is still off-limits to the public.
Linda Cloney, the spokesperson for the emergency management team says, “We continue to lose small amounts of soil around the sinkhole.” She added there are no significant changes or cracks in the parking lot.
However, the release provided a little comfort with news that the water level in the hole was higher than the lake water around it. That would appear to suggest the two are not connected. If Salt Lake was feeding the sinkhole, water levels would be nearly the same.
Officials feared the hole and the lake might come one but the water levels suggested otherwise, leaving officials to focus on the land between the hole and the Lions Club, or the hole and Main Street.
There has been very little activity around the sinkhole for the last two months, which remains off-limits to the public, and no activity in the Lions Club.
The town continues to talk with the province and reports from the December council meeting suggest provincial officials are quite empathetic and open to tangible proposals.
As 2018 drew to a close there was a good sign from the Lions Park, as the sinkhole wished everyone a Merry Christmas.