A four-foot wide sinkhole has opened up in a problematic pond in a neighborhood in The Villages.
The sinkhole has opened up about 50 yards from the site of a previous sinkhole in Lago De Leon in the Villages of Alhambra.
“Staff has communicated with Andreyev Engineering, the District’s Engineer, and requested that a review be conducted and communication be made with the Southwest Florida Water Management District as to how to proceed with the repair,” said Blair Bean of The Villages District Property Management.
Neighbors living around the pond, who gathered this past March to air concerns about the “mudhole,” are now concerned the sinkhole is presenting new dangers to their homes. Nearly all of them paid a hefty premium for their homes with a view of the pond.
Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on the pond nearly three years ago, opening up several sinkholes. Initial efforts to fill the sinkholes did not seem to work.
In 2018, the CDD 2 Board approved a $100,000 expenditure for repairs at the pond. The $100,000 was taken from a reserve account funded by maintenance assessment fees paid by residents of CDD 2. Over the previous decade, $78,000 had been spent on sinkhole repairs at the pond.
