Five Houses Near Sinkhole Called Unsafe

Johnson Visits, Promises Help

Five houses in Prince George's County have been declared at least temporarily uninhabitable because of a sinkhole that opened in their back yards during Monday's heavy rainfall.

County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) toured the Camp Springs neighborhood yesterday and met with residents, promising that the county would provide assistance to the displaced and investigate how to prevent sinkholes.

Johnson said he has been in touch with other county leaders, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).

According to a consultant's report, commissioned by the county, the 200-yard-long gash probably opened as a result of soil erosion over decades along Henson Creek, which runs behind the homes. The erosion of the creek bank has sucked dirt from under the houses' back yards, leading to Monday's collapse during the kind of rainfall that occurs once in 50 years, officials said.

Charles Wilson, director of the county Department of Environmental Resources, said the consultants recommended further testing to explore whether there are voids under the sinkhole. The tests should determine whether the homes can be stabilized and what drainage improvements are needed, he said.

Residents had their own theories about the possible causes, noting that a smaller hole had opened in 1998.

Douglas Pfaff, whose aunt Carol Callahan has been told that she cannot live safely in her house at the hole's edge, said there have been drainage problems for years. He said that residents have dug gullies to help storm water flow into drains at the bottom of the street but that more professional help is needed.

"We've been hand-cutting ditches since I was old enough to hold a shovel," he said.

Mike Singer, who has lived on the street since 1953, said he thinks that recent construction on the nearby Capital Beltway has increased storm-water runoff. Other residents said defects in the way their houses were constructed might be a factor.

Joy Alford, who lives down the street from the six-foot-deep hole, told Johnson that she thinks drainage problems connected to the sinkhole are also responsible for frequent flooding of neighborhood homes. "We're concerned all of this is connected," she said.

Johnson promised to investigate all of the residents' complaints and theories in coming days. "We want to satisfy them that we've looked at it," he said.

Pfaff remarked that he was pleased about the attention but that Johnson and Wilson said nothing in front of the television cameras yesterday that neighbors did not already know. What residents want now, he said, is a plan to get people back into their homes and follow-up to prevent sinkholes.

Johnson promised not to let the issue drop.

"We're not that kind of county, and Prince Georgians are not that kind of people," he said.