ONLY a few months after WASA finally repaired a giant sinkhole in the area, Beetham Gardens residents are having to steer clear of three more.
In a Monday morning media release, the Water and Sewerage Authority said it "is aware of what is suspected to be a partial collapse of its sewer main," which it believes caused the three sinkholes. This was confirmed in a media release on Monday afternoon.
The first sinkhole is near 15th and 16th Streets, on the eastbound lane of Main Street, Beetham Gardens. It is cordoned off by caution tape and warning signs.
[caption id="attachment_981227" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A man examines one of the three sinkholes in the Beetham Gardens, this one on the Main Road is believed to be caused by a collapsed sewer main . Photo by Suresh Cholai[/caption]
The hole measures approximately 14 square feet at road level, is three feet deep and is almost one and a half times wider below the surface. There is a barrel of trash in it.
One resident said the hole has been there for between one and two months, but it is not nearly as problematic as the sinkhole residents had to contend with last year.
Last August, a sinkhole opened on Main Street. Residents estimated that hole was 15 feet wide and 25 feet deep. It made the road impassable and sewage spilt into homes and onto the streets. Traffic had to be diverted to the Priority Bus Route. By January, Newsday reported repairs were nearly complete, but not before a 22-year-old woman fell in and had to be hospitalised.
The second new sinkhole residents identified is close to the one that was repaired. This sinkhole is beneath the bridge where three dried caiman skins hang, within sight of the PBR.
[caption id="attachment_981235" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A Beetham resident looking under the bridge on the main road where one of three sinkholes in the area now exist. Photo by Suresh Cholai[/caption]
Beetham resident Keith Superville said the sinkhole has been there for between two and three months.
Superville said, "I say Beetham might sink, oui.
"You can't see the hole, because is high tide, but on low tide you could see it clear. Water from the mang does rush in and cover it. You could see the run-off from the houses in the drain, but what in the river comes from the mangrove.
"Instead of water running back in the mang, we feel it might be running in the sewer line.
"I think they might have to move that whole bridge if they was to deal with it, because of that sinkhole in the middle."
Higher up Main Street is the third sinkhole, the largest, which obstructs the entire road between the Civilian Conservation Corps and Pension Quarters.
The hole, at the end of CCC Boulevard, behind the Excel Beetham Government Primary School, is approximately 20 feet wide and 15 feet deep. It too was blocked off by caution tape and workers from the T&T Electricity Commission were on site to investigate. They did not yet know the cause or a timeline to repair the hole.
[caption id="attachment_981228" align="alignnone" w
