Work to fill sinkhole at Lake Ann to begin in March

Work to fill in a sinkhole that has developed near the Lake Ann spillway is expected to start next month.

Tom Judson, the chief executive officer of the Bella Vista Property Owners Association, made the announcement during the meeting of the POA’s Lakes Joint Advisory Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the Bella Vista Country Club’s Boardroom.

“A contract has been signed with the company that’s going to be doing the work and we anticipate that work will commence towards the end of March,” Judson said. “So the sinkhole should be taken care of pretty soon.”

Rogers-based APAC is the company that is contracted to fill the hole, the mouth of which measures roughly three feet by five feet and is currently covered with several sheets of plywood.

The volume is approximately 141 cubic yards.

Judson said these measurements are all approximate, adding that “we’ll know more once APAC begins the work.”

Rick Echols, who is the POA’s superintendent for its fishery, lakes and parks, said runoff from the Lake Ann spillway cut into the rocks between the spillway and Pinion Creek.

“If you look at the rock formations there it’s as porous as can be,” he said. “It likely occurred because the water got diverted into a crevice and cut over in there and the surface fell in. It just needs to be filled and the water be directed back to the spillway.”

Echols echoed Judson’s comments regarding the size of the sinkhole, adding that it could be bigger.

“We had it measured, but we could only measure what the instrument could see visually,” he said. “I believe it was measured to be 141 cubic yards — a pretty good size — and that’s just what we could see, so it may be more than that.”

Echols said the Lake Ann water level will have to be brought down before APAC can begin its work.

“We’ll have to bring the lake level down a little bit because there’s actually water still flowing through there,” he said. “We’ll have to bring the lake level down to where it’s not flowing, then shut the valves off and then fill (the sinkhole) with a concrete substance.”

He said the lake “will have to come down about two feet,” which might take a week to 10 days.

Bennett Horne/The Weekly Vista A sinkhole that appeared just above the falls at Pinion Creek at the western edge of Lake Ann is roped off by orange fencing and covered by plywood.