Levee Around Assumption Parish Sinkhole Cracking Again

Assumption Parish, La., officials say that the levee around the 26-acre Bayou Corne sinkhole has cracked during a wave of underground micro-tremors.

The Advocate reports it’s the same area where the earth-and-limestone levee sank a bit and cracks developed in late October. Those were repaired.

The levee was built to keep the salty and sometimes oily water out of surrounding freshwater swamps.

The sinkhole developed in August 2012 after a salt dome cavern operated by Texas Brine Co. collapsed deep underground.

It’s now oval, with growth zones moving northeast and southwest, toward Louisiana Highway 70 and the Bayou Corne waterway.

Texas Brine documents filed with the state don’t suggest the sinkhole will reach either. But they say it is edging closer to the southern levee just north of Bayou Corne.