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FOUR SINKHOLES IDENTIFIED

Engineers Map Scott Lake Woes
One sinkhole is thought to be between 150 and 300 feet deep.

By Diane Lacey Allen
The Ledger

<img src="http://imgsrv.theledger.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=LL&Date=20060624&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=606240370&Ref=AR&Profile=1004&MaxW=580&title=1" align="left" hspace=10 vspace=5> LAKELAND -- While plans for restoring Scott Lake are still in the works, BCI Engineers & Scientists has generated a graphic that gives a layman's view of what's at play in the 285-acre lake.

Using an aerial photo and site observations, four sinkholes have been identified in the lake. Three old sinkholes also have been drawn onto the graphic featuring the southeast side of Scott Lake.

<a href="http://lledit.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060715/NEWS/607150387/0/FRONTPAGE">Full Story with graphic. Check out the "Sink Hole Lawyers" sponsored ads below the story, too!</a>


THE POWER OF NATURE

Aquatic Wildlife Lost as Earth Swallows Lake

Published Friday, June 23, 2006

By Del Milligan
The Ledger

LAKELAND -- A whirlpool probably devoured everything from fish to turtles to alligators from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning as Scott Lake continued to disappear.

A sinkhole created the whirlpool on the lake's south shore. It more than likely swallowed three-quarters of the lake's aquatic life, said a veteran Lakeland fisheries biologist.

"They followed the flow, and the flow led them into the ground," Tom Champeau said Thursday. "They'll die in there for sure, because there's no oxygen. There's no springs down there, and they won't pop out somewhere else...

<a href="http://lledit.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060623/NEWS/606230390">Link to original article.</a>

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... 0685.story

Rains, runoff help Scott Lake recover from sinkhole drainage
The Associated Press

July 23, 2006

LAKELAND -- A lake that had been drained by sinkholes is mostly full again.

Scott Lake, a 291-acre lake south of Lakeland, began to drain when four sinkholes formed in June. The draining caused damage to several homes, while fish were left rotting on oozing mud flats and alligators and snapping turtles had to search for water.

Now, it appears that water from summer rains and stormwater runoff have helped the lake recover.

"Right now it appears that the lake has plugged itself," said Rick Powers, president of BCI Engineers & Scientists Inc. Residents who live around the lake had contacted the company to investigate the disappearing water.

Still, the lake area is not completely past its problems. Water has not totally refilled the lake, and boat docks ringing it are still on dry land.

Residents who live around the lake may still hire a company to do an in-depth scientific study of the geology below the lake and possibly pay to fill the largest sinkhole with cement, resident Dave Curry said.

Sinkholes form when groundwater levels drop, leaving empty cavities in the limestone aquifer.

[quote]Lakeland, Florida - At first glance, it doesn't look like much has changed on Scott Lake. But talk with the folks who live along the 291-acre Polk County lake, and they will tell you they notice a difference. The lake's water level is slowly coming back, even if it is just a few inches.

Lib Crawford, Scott Lake Resident:
"It's nice to look out and see water instead of the sand and grass.â€