TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – The effort to fix problems caused by the Arlington Avenue sinkhole has only caused more issues, for at least one neighbor.
Melissa Stevens said she woke up on Sunday morning to find her water was not on, apparently the line was damaged by stone used to fill the large sinkhole in front of her house.
“They had me run a hose from my neighbor’s to my house for almost two days,” Stevens said.
City of Toledo crews were able to restore water access for Stevens and her family Monday afternoon.
“They start digging out all that debris and stuff just so they can fix our water line,” said Morgan Stevens, Melissa’s daughter, describing the work that was done.
She watched as water sprayed from the line and crews added what looked like a new metal pipe.
The stone that used to fill the sinkhole was piled up to one side of the pit by Toledo crews. But a city spokesperson said the damage was not the city’s fault.
“The water service disruption is from Columbia adding stone to the sinkhole to support their gas line,” wrote Tori Lane, a public information coordinator, in an email to 13 Action News. “Columbia damaged the resident’s water service line. Water service has been temporarily restored and we are working on repairing it as soon as possible.”
According to a newsletter published by the City of Toledo, City of Toledo crews added gravel to the sinkhole after it collapsed on April 3.
A spokesperson confirmed with 13 Action News on Monday that city crews did add stone to the sinkhole, around April 3, but said Columbia Gas added more stone over the weekend.
13 Action News reached out to Columbia Gas and a spokesperson said that the company added gravel on April 3 to support the line.
On April 3, Columbia Gas of Ohio was notified of a situation on Arlington Avenue in Toledo where a sinkhole exposed a section of one of our natural gas main lines. To maintain the safety and integrity of our system and prevent gas service disruption to our customers, Columbia used gravel to support and stabilize the exposed gas line. The City of Toledo’s water main was functional upon completion of this work. Columbia continues to monitor the gas line to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of gas service to our customers and maintain the security of our system.
Columbia’s remediation work is a temporary fix until the sinkhole is resolved. We will work with the City of Toledo when they repair the sinkhole to ensure our line remains safe, stable and unaffected.”
The Stevens family said they are frustrated with how the situation is being handled, and are worried about potentially having more issues stem from the sinkhole.
“They don’t know what they’re doing, that’s the problem,” said Melissa Stevens, frustrated with the confusion surrounding the project.
What used to be two small openings in front of her house is now a massive sinkhole that is about the same size as the original sinkhole.
She hopes an end to the sinkhole saga is in sight.
“They just need to get it fixed!” Stevens said. “It’s just going to cost more and more and more because it’s getting worse.”
Last week, Toledo City Council did approve a bid to assess the sinkhole and find the most efficient way to fix it.
Council Member Theresa Gadus also told 13 Action News that the city is expected to put up speed bumps on the streets surrounding Arlington Avenue to help with the increased traffic caused by the street closure.
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This article was published by WTVG on 2025-04-15 06:44:00
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