A concrete truck backs up behind Luzerne Lumber Tuesday to continue filling in the mine subsidence that opened up in Toby’s Creek over the weekend to prevent water leaking unto the abandoned mine underground.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
Water can be seem bubbling to the surface behind the Tripp Street Field in Forty Fort.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
LUZERNE — Work continued Tuesday for the third straight day to fill in a mine subsidence that opened up in the bed of Toby’s Creek behind Luzerne Lumber last weekend, causing water from the creek to be diverted into an abandoned mine shaft underground.
State Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Colleen Connolly said in a statement that after observing some settling rock fill, contractors began grouting the subsidence to prevent water from entering the hole.
The mine subsidence was first reported around 7 a.m. Sunday and led to the closure of a portion of Main Street and the Back Mountain Trail while crews worked to plug the hole.
Swoyersville mine subsidence
Further details were also released regarding a second mine subsidence that opened up Monday in the backyard of a home on Hughes Street in Swoyersville.
According to Connolly, the opening measured 12 feet by 12 feet at the surface and was open to a depth of 11 feet, undercutting a property line fence.
DEP Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR) crews filled in the subsidence with R-3 and R-4 rock to eliminate the hazard.
Finishing work such as topsoil and seeding will occur at a later date, Connolly stated.
Reports of water in the area
Also on Tuesday, Connolly said BAMR visited the site of the old Nesbitt Hospital in Kingston, about three miles from Toby’s Creek, to investigate reports of water coming out of a manhole.
The water flowing out of the manhole lid was not far from a storm inlet, so Connolly stated there was no flooding issue or hazard.
The source of the water was not immediately known.
The DEP is also looking into water that has surfaced and seeped into a grassy area of the Tripp Street Field in Forty Fort.
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