Sinkholes in the Fairview Heights neighborhood are causing trouble for local residents

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. — Homeowners from Fairview Heights say sinkholes are popping up in their neighborhood, and the problem has been getting worse for years.

One was just behind Albert Graham’s house. He was afraid someone might fall in. He said it was a big concern

“As for the sinkholes here, I guess it’s like a stormwater drain down here, and the city came in and filled it in when it went down,” Graham said. “The first time they brought in a small dump truck and they filled it up and the second time it really sank they pulled out a really big dump truck and filled it up and every time it rained and stuff it sank. And I noticed another one up here by my fence; A new one begins.”

He said he’s not the only one in the neighborhood struggling with this problem. His neighbor down the street had the same problems. The neighbor only had two large holes in the ground in his garden.

“And then the neighbors here had one and it did the same thing,” Graham said. “Then they had kids and they were afraid they might fall in, so they just packed up and moved out.”

“Last year, during the heavy rains in July, there was an increase in water flow, so these pipes are aging,” said Mark Cupski, Mayor of Fairview Heights. “We sent cameras through all the pipes. We found an area in early summer where the pipes were damaged. We will start removing and replacing these pipes.”

The mayor explained how bad things got.

“Well, some pipes age based on where they are and how much water is flowing through them,” Cupski said. “These are steel pipes; They do rust after some time so obviously the area where they were leaking had been leaking underground for a while where we didn’t see it, so we’re going to take them out and completely replace them in that particular area. ”

Cupski said the city has committed $20,000 to replace the failed pipe and expects work to begin in midsummer.