This photo shows a sinkhole by the parking lot entrance to Barnett Junior High School in southeast Arlington, Texas. It has been there for some time, but since it wasn't clear as to whether this was on City or School property, it remained in a state of disrepair. We just learned that it is the School District's responsibility. Originally, the issue was suspected to have been caused by a leak in the City's water main; however, that turned out not to be the case, according to an AISD official. The reason for the ground collapse remains a mystery.
Sinkhole at Barnett Junior High between parking lot and Prescott Drive, Arlington, TX
Barnett Junior High School located in the heart of a shale gas extraction zone in Arlington, TX
Now take a look at this Railroad Commission of Texas GIS map showing the horizontal well bores coming off the Fulson Drill Site operated by Chesapeake in Arlington, Texas:
Notice that the West Wing 1H well was drilled beneath the location near that sinkhole. Could all of this drilling, fracking, and extraction of natural gas be the culprit? It certainly may be plausible, but only time will tell...
In the meantime, while we're waiting for these revelations, click Here to read about subsidence. And click Here to read about the Wink Sink on Texas Sharon's blog. We hope to bring you more updates very soon... Shortly after this blog story was published, this weird event happened in Ohio.
All the drillers just went into panic mode. Sinkholes and earthquakes are game over for fracking.
ReplyDeleteJust clicked on that little arrow at the left top of the picture to enlarge the details. There's so much drilling in the area.
DeleteMaybe a call to the Texas Railroad Commission is in order? Looks as if they made a trip to West TX in 2009. Scary stuff for a suburban neighborhood in Southeast Arlington and in a school parking lot where there just so happens to be pipeline construction all around that area right now.
DeleteSinkholes and Gas Drilling Go Hand-In-Hand
It is a known fact that drilling can cause sinkholes. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, underground mining does cause subsidence. Because Arlington has opened wide its doors to the gas industry ~ allowing them to mine nearly every square inch of area ~ the future looks not only bleak for homeowners, but potentially dangerous.
ReplyDeleteAnd does it say anything in the mineral leases about possible subsidence, earthquakes or overall impacts on your property ~ the biggest investment most people will make in their entire life?? {{Rhetorical}}
DeleteNow why would you have a dangerous sinkhole on school grounds exposed for so long? You would think the safety of students would be a top priority.
ReplyDeleteRealy scary. We live on Weyborn Dr and are having some foundation problems. The front of our house seems to be "sinking". We have an engineering company coming out to evaluate.
ReplyDeleteWe live in that subdivision, and our home developed large horizontal cracks after drilling began.
DeleteSo, if they are "Drilling aka Boring" down 40-45 feet (according to the Construction Manager) just to the East and on the same street ~ Camp Wisdom/Sublett) for pipeline placement...can we say there is current "drilling" activity near this sinkhole? Since we know this activity is going on as we speak, this Grand Prairie Westchester Neighbor says, "Yes. Of course. There is current drilling activity."
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that the horizontal portion of that well under the sinkhole is nearly 10,000' below surface, right? We all need a little more common sense
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, this blog post doesn't definitely state a cause and effect relationship. What we do know, however, is that many horizontal wells have been drilled (horizontally under homes) and perfed (with explosives) along with the installation of a major infrastructure of gas gathering pipelines snaking through our communities. All of this changes things on the surface. It just does.
DeleteAccording to the Railroad Commission of Texas records, these well bores are 9,000 feet deep. Common sense, along with sound information provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, says underground mining does cause subsidence, earthquakes, and sinkholes.
Since practically every square inch of Arlington and North Texas is permitted with wells, we might want to take another look at our geography in twenty years. At that time, feel free to express your opinion on this blog again ~ because that's just what it is ~ an opinion carefully framed by the Oil & Gas Industry to convince the public at large that this activity is all harmless.
Watch this two-minute informative video called, "The Science of Sinkholes" by a USGS geologist:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wubMuKDGBuk
And here's that link the sinkhole video as "hot" as it can be. Well worth watching simply because this geologist tells it like it is related to the potential pipeline infrastructure impacts. Wow:
DeleteClick here to view "The Science of Sinkholes."