The sinkhole situation in Fillmore County
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(ABC 6 News) – The bluffs and Mayo Clinic are just some of things that bring people to southeastern Minnesota, but one thing you might not know it’s also home countless sinkholes. One town has claimed the title “The sinkhole capitol of the nation.”
Along the Root River State Trail in Fountain, MN is where you can find one of the many sinkholes in the area. Some aren’t a big concern to the city in fact they take pride in it, but there are other sinkholes that do cause some worry.
“We’re a small town surrounded by farm country, we don’t have a river or lake front or anything like that. So, we’ve really embraced sinkholes,” said Councilwoman Colleen Foehrenbacher.
This area is dominated by karst landscape which is limestone. When water soaks into the ground it can actually deteriorate the limestone causing holes to form underground and when the soil above can no longer hold its weight it will collapse causing a sinkhole.
This area is dominated by karst landscape which is limestone. When water soaks into the ground it can actually deteriorate the limestone causing holes to form underground and when the soil above can no longer hold its weight it will collapse causing a sinkhole.
The bluffs and Mayo Clinic are just some of things that bring people to southeastern Minnesota, but one thing you might not know it's also home countless sinkholes.
“So, this is on DNR property, so the state owns this. There’s a nice deck that comes out here with some interpretations so people can actually get in and see what a sink hole is like,” said Foehrenbacher.
This sinkhole is located about a half mile from the trail head. It provides a nice pitstop for people on the trail. While it might be a great tourist attraction on the edge of town. It’s a big concern in town.
“As a resident of Fountain when I moved here. One 0of my main concerns is a sink hole going to open up in my house,” said Foehrenbacher.
Foehrenbacher isn’t the only one who’s worried.
“Years and years and years ago. The circle with the orange fence around it was a sink a basically turned into a catch basin for the culvert and the streets,” said Foehrenbacher.
Tom Tienter has lived in fountain for many years. This sink hole is just a stone’s throw away from his father in laws house.
“If you would happen to look down there. There is what I would call an active sinkhole. We’ve probably filled in 5 or 6 of them which tells you there’s a crevice there,” said Tienter.
Tom says filling in sink holes is only temporary because it will eventually open up again.
“As a landowner in town we are looking for suggestions on how to alleviate the problem,” said Tienter.
The city plans on addressing the problem but once a sinkhole has started there’s not a lot that can been done, but some mitigation efforts can be done to help aid the issue.