Winter Park Florida Sinkhole of 1981

Photo 15 of 15: Water level in sinkhole chimney stabilized since the previous day. View to south across the sinhole. In the following weeks and months, the water level in the sinkhole continued to rise, a likely result of the plugging of the conduit into the Floridan aquifer with the sinkhole debris, fill subsequently emplaced by the city, and natural consolidation processes such that water levels rose to within a few feet of land surface, which is consistent with the many lakes in the area that have probably experienced a similar genesis. (10:30 a.m.)