CONTINUING COVERAGE: Backyards sink into Irving Lake

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TexasStooge
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CONTINUING COVERAGE: Backyards sink into Irving Lake

#1 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:26 pm

This happened over 7 miles south from where I live at!

BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8 wrote:IRVING, Texas - Demetric Castro stepped into the back yard of his Irving home on Wednesday morning, and his heart sank at what had sunk.

Castro's back yard, along with four other homes nearby, had collapsed seven to eight feet, leaving the houses just a few feet from the new edge. A satellite dish dropped, fences fell and shrubs sagged.


Click here for full story.
Last edited by TexasStooge on Wed Feb 16, 2005 7:43 am, edited 2 times in total.
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#2 Postby depotoo » Thu Feb 03, 2005 1:46 pm

wow! bet that was a scare!
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#3 Postby mf_dolphin » Thu Feb 03, 2005 2:22 pm

Sounds like they all got brand new pools! ;-)
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#4 Postby DaylilyDawn » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:25 pm

Sounds like sinkhole activity to me.
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#5 Postby depotoo » Thu Feb 03, 2005 4:33 pm

yep - pools where you don't have to leave them for anything! lol

really - it's awful - noticed my new homeowners policy now includes sinkhole coverage! hope that's not an omen!
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#6 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:35 am

Thanks to my Dad, I got some inside info on that piece of land that sunk. In the 1980s, they built houses there, but were not sturdy enough, 10 years later, it was turned into a landfill, and 5 years after that, someone had the smarts to build more houses there. The residents' houses are not harmed, but still in danger of sinking.

My family wouldn't live in that area even if they paid us to!
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#7 Postby JenBayles » Fri Feb 04, 2005 12:46 pm

Saw that story and pic in the Houston Barnacle this morning. WOW!
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#8 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:46 pm

Just made me think twice about getting a home beside the lake.

Image
Photo by RICHARD MICHAEL PRUITT / Dallas Morning News
Demetric Castro's satellite dish slipped away from his house when his yard collapsed Wednesday.
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#9 Postby DaylilyDawn » Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:07 pm

If I had paid for that dish , I would arrange to get someone to rescue it for me.
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#10 Postby TexasStooge » Mon Feb 07, 2005 10:48 am

Families Try To Prevent Homes From Sliding Into Lake

Engineer Says Homes Safe For Now

IRVING, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Five families in Irving were trying to keep their homes from sliding into a private lake Sunday after a slope failed beside Lake Vilbig, NBC 5 News reported.

An engineer hired by the city found confirmed that rain-saturated soil in the area gave way.

Now, homeowners are desperate to save their homes, NBC 5 News reported.

This weekend, they placed tarps over their backyards and put in drains to move rainwater away from the saturated soil.

The engineer's report said that the homes are safe for now, but the landslide threatens them if the sliding soil isn't stopped, NBC 5 News reported.
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#11 Postby JenBayles » Mon Feb 07, 2005 1:59 pm

And I thought I had it bad with the Bayles Swamp back in full swing.... WOW!
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#12 Postby southerngale » Mon Feb 07, 2005 2:14 pm

Yikes!! :shocked!:
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#13 Postby TexasStooge » Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:15 am

Who's to blame for sinking back yards?

By DON WALL / WFAA ABC 8

IRVING, Texas - Six days after Eric Kelcher's Irving back yard sank about eight feet, he still doesn't know why it happened - and he's still waiting for answers from the city.

"I wish things would move a little quicker, because I'm worried about damage to the houses," Kelcher said. "Insurance has already said they're not going to cover anything there, so we are all hoping to get the repairs started as quick as possible."

A consultant hired by the City of Irving concluded that the houses are not in danger of falling in yet, but they could be if nothing is done. In the meantime, it's too dangerous behind the homes for pets and children.

But who is responsible for the loss of land, and the collapsing of retaining walls and decks on the edge of Lake Vilbig?

Heavy rains last year could be the reason, but the investigation will also focus on a storm drain which has backed up and caused problems for two years.

"But there's no indication that the drain pipe caused the slip failure," said Irving public works director Jim Cline.

Also, last year the lake level rose when road construction blocked a creek.

Still, unless the city is at fault the homeowners may be responsible to pay up to $35,000 to fix each backyard.

"We always want to look out for the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens," Cline said. "We also have to balance that with spending public funds on private property."

Anitha Thomas lives next door, and she worries her yard could be next.

"I don't know what to do to take extra precautions," Thomas said. "I don't know what to do - nothing we can to protect that."

The homeowners hope the blue tarps and drain tubes will prevent further erosion if it rains again.
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#14 Postby TexasStooge » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:53 am

Report: Saturation led to Irving landslide

By RUSSELL RIAN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas – An engineering report blames saturation from lake water over decades and heavy rainfalls during the last year for softening soil and causing a landslide near several homes at Vilbig Lake in south Irving this month.

Residents whose homes back up to the lake awoke about midnight Feb. 1 and found that their back yards had sunk 6 to 8 feet. No injuries were reported, but the landslide collapsed decks, toppled birdhouses and broke fencing across a 250-foot swath through five yards in the 1200 block of Lakeshore Drive.

"There is not an immediate danger to the homeowners," said Jim Cline, Irving's public works director, but, "We do know that steps will need to be taken to secure the homes for the future."

Mr. Cline said he did not know whether any other homes were in danger, but the city has no plans to do further investigations in other areas, and he said homeowners would be responsible for fixing their property.

Homeowners said they want to check out the original plans for the area to see whether it was properly filled but will have to meet to discuss what to do next. Residents said insurance is unlikely to help pay for any repairs.

"We're looking for some help if there's anything that can be done," said Jim Ferguson, whose deck collapsed in the landslide.

The city has fixed slope failures on public land, along highways for example, but does not fix erosion problems on private property, such as when landscaping timbers serving as retaining walls collapse, Mr. Cline said. All the land involved is private property along a private lake, he said.

"We've got to be very careful stewards of the city dollar, and to make improvements or repairs to private property is outside the scope of that," he said. "We certainly recommend the homeowners go ahead and start looking at what they need to be doing to preserve their property."

The city will be looking at fixing a city drainage pipe adjacent to the landslide area that will require further study. Mr. Cline pledged to share any engineering data, such as soil samples, with the affected residents, which could save them some expense. He also offered to help residents garner funding from other agencies if it's available, but he said he was not aware of any federal or other funds from other agencies that would help.

Homeowners have taken temporary measures to divert rainfall in the meantime.

"We've got all our back yards covered with tarps to keep rainwater out of the soil and to keep it from further eroding," Mr. Ferguson said.

Homeowners also have put in temporary piping to divert water.

"It seems to be working," he said. "It's keeping the soil from collapsing any further."

A seven-page report by Dallas-based HBC/Terracon released Tuesday concluded: "The landslide appears to be the result of the loss of soil strength and water."

Developers used a highly plastic clay as fill when the area, a former sand and gravel quarry pit, was developed about 1983, the report states. Water seeping from the lake and rainfall – which was at near-record levels in 2004 and into this year – gradually softened the clay, causing the ground underneath to slip.

"Slope failures are not unusual for 20-year-old slopes constructed with highly plastic clays," the report says. "The large rainfall may have been a large contributor to why the slope failed when it did."

Terracon officials, who also are working on possible further studies needed to repair the city's pipe, could not be reached for comment. The city has spent less than $1,500 on studies so far, Mr. Cline said.
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#15 Postby JenBayles » Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:01 am

I'm really curious as to whether this sort of damage is covered in a homeowner's insurance policy?
:eek:
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#16 Postby TexasStooge » Wed Feb 16, 2005 12:03 pm

JenBayles wrote:I'm really curious as to whether this sort of damage is covered in a homeowner's insurance policy?
:eek:


Some houses should be covered, however, I'm not holding my breath about that.
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#17 Postby TexasStooge » Wed Feb 16, 2005 2:47 pm

It wasn't the city's fault, yet homeowners blame them and not the developers who should've know that the particular area was a landfill on top of a gravel surface. If they would've known that, they wouldn't be in the kind of mess they're already in.
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#18 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:23 pm

City Denies Landslide Responsibility

IRVING, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- About two weeks ago, five homes located on lakefront lots along a shore of Irving's Lake Vilbig slid about six feet toward the water. The slide caused 6-foot cracks in back yards, collapsed decks and damaged hedges.

The residents claimed the city was responsible for the landslide because the lake handles storm drainage. The city declined to act until an engineer's assessment could be completed.

Tuesday, the engineer's report was released. The assessment found that the slope failure was caused by a lack of soil strength and water in the fill material used to construct the lake.

The landslide swallowed up land Wednesday morning in the 1200 block of Lakeshore Drive.

The finding meant that the city would not pay for repairs to the back yards. Residents, therefore, would have to pay themselves for repairs.

Frustrated homeowners said the city cannot wash its hands of the damage.

"The city has a vested interest in maintaining the value of our property," homeowner Jim Ferguson said. "We pay good property taxes to live on this lake."

City officials also said a damaged drainage pipe was not to blame for the landslide, and that the city could not allot public money for private repairs.

"We've got to be very careful stewards of the public dollar," Jim Cline, of Irving Public Water Works, said. "To make improvements or repairs to private property is outside the scope of that."

The city recommends homeowners make plans to repair their properties. The homeowners have scheduled a meeting for Tuesday night to outline their next actions.
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#19 Postby TexasStooge » Thu Feb 17, 2005 5:13 pm

What happened so far:

2/02: Back yards of 4 homes in Irving sunk 7 feet into Vilbig Lake.
2/06: Families try desperately to save their homes from Danger. Others feared their backyards are next.
2/15: City of Irving Denies Landslide Responsibility
2/16: An engineering report blames saturation from lake water and heavy rainfalls during the past year for softening soil and causing a landslide across several homes near Lake Vilbig in South Irving earlier this month.
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#20 Postby TexasStooge » Fri Feb 18, 2005 12:59 pm

Irving Residents To Pay For Landslide Repairs

Report: Problem Only Going To Get Worse

IRVING, Texas (KXAS NBC 5) -- Five families along Vilbig Lake in Irving are pressing city hall for another engineering study to find ways to fix a landslide behind their homes.

The city said recently that they will not pay for repairs along the private lake.

The residents have covered their backyards with tarps to help keep the soil from sliding any further.

An independent engineer contacted by NBC 5 said the problem will only get worse as the weather gets warmer and dries out the soil.

"When it dries out and the soil starts cracking this will allow for a path for the water to infiltrate and cause a big block of soil to move," said Ralph Mansour with Syntec Engineering Group, Inc.

Homeowners urged the Irving city coucnil Thursday night to fund more studies and recommend ways to repair the damage.
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