A22-L«ncaster Fanning, Saturday, November 26, 1994
Sinkholes Potential Environmental Threats
Strain Farmers ’ Patience, Money
(Continued from Page Al)
SCS (now NRCS) standard and
specification.
(As a result of recent USDA
reorganization, the Soil Conserva
tion Service is now called the
Natural Resources Conservation
Service, or NRCS.)
Many farmers, along with socie
ty as a whole, have learned the
importance of protecting the envi
ronment. More than ever before,
they are doing all they can to
ensure water is not contaminated,
soil is not lost, and hazardous
material is properly disposed of.
But years ago, many farmers
recount how their grandfather and
father covered over old dump sites
that once contained a sinkhole or
two. Nothing was ever said. After
all, a place was needed to put the
trash.
Now, slowly, the importance of
protecting the environment has
for want of a better expression
started to sink in. There are correct
ways for dealing with sinkholes, if
only farmers would take the time
and learn.
But for now, dealing with the
problems inherent when sinkholes
occur continue. In light of the
heavy precipitation that was the
year of 1994, more and more sink
holes opened up all over the county
and the state. Recently, a building
in Allentown was demolished
because a sinkhole opened up
underneath it. In April this year, a
sinkhole appeared on Rt. 422 near
Lebanon. Another one, measuring
20 feet in diameter, opened up on
Rt. 31 in Carroll County, Md., kill
ing a 24-year-old man.
Sinkholes can appear on any
property, residential or commer
cial. In an August 1993 issue of a
local newspaper, there was a story
about a sinkhole that had opened
up, trapping a man planting at his
mother’s grave. Sinkholes are übi
quitous they can happen
A typical sinkhole that has bean used as a traal
can pose problems to groundwater.
Sinkholes and Your Water Supply
anywhere.
A small sinkhole even opened
up recently at the Lancaster Farm
and Home Center.
But- many sinkholes open up in
farm valleys.
“Sinkholes seem to occur more
frequently along the base of moun
tain slopes where acidic runoff
enters 'limestone valleys,” said
Bruce Benton, an NRCS geologist.
Benton was instrumental in
helping put together the NRCS
standard and specification for
(Turn to Pag# A 24)
Part 1 Oi
• Do not pour
hazardous
chemicals into
a sinkhole.
GROUNDW
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Manure flows into this sinkhole. Sinkholes are direct conduits to groundwater
your drinking water.
This sinkhole in Clinton County was tha aubjact of an 18-mlnute training video. For
10 years it was used as a dump site until it was repaired using SCS guidance.
Sinkhole Series
• Do not dump trash
into a sinkhole.
sy
melei
mdwater.
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