Water worker's misjudgment leads to large Fayetteville sinkhole

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A 10-foot sinkhole that opened in a Fayetteville neighborhood early Wednesday afternoon is drawing concern from residents in the Middle Creek subdivision in Fayetteville.

Mark Williams said he called the city and Aqua after he discovered a break in the pavement Tuesday afternoon. Underneath the pavement, Williams said he heard rushing water.

"I called the city and they told me to call the water company and they said they couldn't do anything until morning and told them if they waited then we would have a sinkhole," Williams said.

Williams was right.

"We have a sinkhole. We have a mess," Williams said.

Williams lives directly across the street from the sinkhole. His neighbor moved his car to higher ground. Other than a few cones marking the worksite, Daharan Drive was still open.

"Just the integrity of the road we're worried about because the whole road was saturated like it rained and it hasn't," Williams said.

Speaking of rain, the dirt from the washed-out road has settled in the Williams' family stream.

"If that doesn't get fixed then the water is going to rush into our property because that really saved us from the hurricane last year," Williams said.

Aqua did cap off the leak. A spokeswoman told ABC11 that a representative did come out to assess the resident's initial complaint around 8:30 Tuesday night but at that time, he didn't believe there was a significant sinkhole risk.