SEFFNER, FL — Work began this week to fill a catastrophic sinkhole that reopened Monday after forming beneath a house in Seffner in 2013, swallowing a 36-year-old man who was asleep in his bed at the time.
Despite being filled twice, the obstinate sinkhole has defied all efforts to remain closed. It reopened in 2015 and again on Monday, July 10.
The Bush family was asleep in their home at 244 Faithway Drive, Seffner, on Feb. 28, 2013, when family members reported being awoken by a thundering sound. Jeremy Bush’s brother, Jeffrey, was visiting at the time, and the Bushes’ young son gave up his bed for his uncle.
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Jeremy Bush recalled jumping out of bed and rushing toward the sound coming from his son’s bedroom, however, Jeffrey Bush, along with the bed in which he was sleeping, had been swallowed by a 16-foot-wide and 19-foot-deep sinkhole.
Instinctively, Jeremy Bush said he jumped into the hole to try to save his brother and might have perished as well if it hadn’t been for Hillsborough County Deputy Douglas Duvall, who showed up in the nick of time. He reached down and grabbed Jeremy Bush by the hand and lifted him out.
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Jeffrey Bush’s body was never recovered. A plaque at the site of the sinkhole honors his memory.
Hillsborough County ultimately condemned and demolished the Bushes’ home along with two adjacent homes and filled the sinkhole.
But the void in the limestone bedrock beneath Florida’s sandy topsoil defied all efforts to remain closed and the sinkhole reopened in 2015.
This time, there were no injuries because the county left the site vacant and added double fencing to prevent anyone from venturing too close.
The county considered the matter resolved when Jon-Paul Lavandeira, code enforcement division director for Hillsborough County, said his office received a call around 4:45 p.m. Monday alerting the county that the sinkhole had reopened a third time.
“We responded immediately out here and the first thing we did was assess the surrounding homes to make sure there were no issues,” Lavandeira said. “And there were no issues, thank goodness, so we were able to address our focus on assessing the situation right here.”
A sinkhole remediation contractor was brought in to determine the extent of the problem and draft a remediation plan.
And on Tuesday, workers began filling the sinkhole with gravel.
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“An excavator is dumping the gravel in the hole and we have a water truck on site that’s hosing down the gravel to get the particulates out of the material as well as help it (the gravel) get down further in the ground,” Lavandeira said.
He estimates it will take 150 cubic yards of fine gravel to fill the 19-foot-wide, 16-foot-long and 19-foot-deep sinkhole.
Lavandeira said this remediation plan is a common practice used to fill sinkholes. The water helps compact the gravel and prevent the sinkhole from reopening.
He said he expects the work to be completed this week.
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But there’s no guarantee that the sinkhole will remain closed.
According to the Department of Environment Protection, the Florida peninsula sits on top of limestone and dolomite, both of which are porous and susceptible to erosion, which can cause the overlying sediments to collapse, producing underground cavities.
These collapses can be caused by various natural and man-made conditions such as groundwater discharges, dry caves, the pumping of groundwater, collapsed or broken sewer and drain pipes, broken septic tanks, improperly compacted soil after excavation work and landfills, said the DEP.
According to SinkholeMaps’ sinkhole map database, Florida leads the country in the number of sinkholes. There have been more than 27,000 reported sinkhole incidences and sinkhole-affected parcels across 59 counties in Florida.
Pasco County leads the state with 9,602 sinkholes, followed by Hernando County with 8,266 sinkholes, Pinellas County with 2,490 sinkholes and Hillsborough County with 2,277 sinkholes.
Floridians who want to avoid sinkholes might want to check out Flagler, Franklin, Glades, Hendry, Martin, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, which have reported just one sinkhole each.
“If someone feels that they have a depression, they can call 813-727-5900 and code enforcement can come out and make sure the structure is safe,” said Lavandeira.
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