Underground sinkhole causes $828,000 in damage to Oak Ridge North main sewer line

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Oak Ridge North City Council members approved a $45,242 expense on Aug. 12 following Southern Montgomery County Municipal Utility District's discovery of a sinkhole that caused significant damage to the main sewer line for the city.

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What's happening

Kim Wright, general manager of SMC MUD, presented the issue during the council meeting on Aug. 12, saying the sinkhole caused a need for "emergency repairs" to prevent a loss of service.

"There was about 20 linear feet of ductile iron pipe, and a manhole where we had a pretty significant sinkhole that was identified," Wright said.

Wright said the emergency repair cost around $34,000, but further damage was found which will require additional projects to prevent more emergency repairs.

"We have some significant deterioration in this area, and so we have defined a project for this next fiscal year to start addressing this area," Wright said. "It's approximately just over 1,700 linear feet of ductile iron pipe in this area, and about 14 manholes that we're looking at rehabbing."

What's next?

The funding approved by the council will go toward a $138,920 engineering study performed on behalf of SMC MUD to determine the best course of action for repairs.

Wright said she will come back before the city once a construction bid is complete to provide the city's expenses for the actual reconstruction of the pipeline, which will be shared with the other municipalities that are serviced by SMC MUD. Wright said the total construction estimate is roughly $828,000.

The council approved the expense and requested additional information regarding the city's share to be presented at a future meeting.

This article comes from our ABC13 partners at Community Impact Newspapers.