Hole In My Yard - Help !

[flingus]

Was hoping on some help from someone out there who may know more than I do on this subject.. I bought my house about 7 years ago.. A week before closing I was told by the previous owner there was a "Sulfur Spring" in the front yard. It has bubbled up and leaked water once in the 7 years I have lived here.. Well, the hole has just recently (over the last 2 years) started growing. I've been doing some research and don't think this is a sulfur spring, I'm thinking it's possibly a natural well or aquifer..

I should also note that we use a septic tank, and this hole is maybe 20 feet away from the septic field. I do have a septic professional coming out to make sure it's not leakage from the septic tank but, he said since the water in the hole isnt black, I shouldn't be too concerned. The water smells kinda like a fish tank that hasnt been cleaned regularly..

So here are the stats.. It's about a foot wide, about 3 feet deep, and has maybe an inch of water in it presently. The hole does get wider the further down you look but, it does seem to have pretty solid walls so, I'm not sure where the water is coming from.. The bottom of the hole is pretty silty though so, I'm thinking it's bubbling up from below.

Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks in advance!

 

[rbh]

Re: Hole In My Yard - Help !

My grandmothers yard was riddled with small springs, if you dug a hole in the area were the spring pops up and stuck your arm in you would feel the underground creek running under it, one of the give aways it was a stream was the walls and roof were clay/dirt but the base was gravel/stone.
If you can figure out the direction of flow and drop alittle of the green die into the water you can see were it empties out if there is a body of water around (creek, river pond, lake ETC

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Hole In My Yard - Help !

I haven't heard of too many cases where fighting those things worked out well. Better to work with them. Try pouring a few feet of stones in the hole followed by a soil barrier mesh and them some topsoil/grass. The stones will allow the water to continue to do it's thing under the mesh/topsoil. My 2 cents.

If nothing else works, throw one of these over it.

 

[flingus]

Re: Hole In My Yard - Help !

I wouldn't mind throwing some safe dye in there and seeing where it ends up.. I do live near a Lake but, I have a feeling this may empty out somewhere behind my house.. I live in what I like to affectionately call a "Hobbit House". It's literally in a hill. The main floor is ground level, and the bottom floor is half inside the hill.. The entire yard front and back slopes downward towards the lake/valley.. Behind the house is all US Army Corps land so, it's just woods and continues sloping down towards the lake..

I need to get back there and look around anyway because, on top of this odd hole in my yard, I have another issue where I keep smelling what I think is septic waste.. Which is one reason this hole alarmed me. The more and more I think about it, I agree with you guys.. I think this is a natural spring and has nothing to do with my septic system. I will probably fill it up with gravel and sand and see if that lasts.. I agree again, trying to fight this thing would be futile. I just hate to have a gaping hole in my yard. I had to put a huge stick in it so the poor lawn guy didn't end up breaking his ankle in it, and I hate for some kids to wander in my yard and get hurt chasing a soccer ball or something..

If I find anything interesting in the woods behind my house I'll let you know.. Should be an adventure.

Thanks for the replies !