Trzebinia. Another sinkhole. The information was provided by the municipality

The hole that was created on Sunday in the Gaj housing estate damaged – according to Hubert Ciepły, the spokesman for the Lesser Poland State Fire Service – the track to the Siersza power plant. The funnel has a diameter of about 8 meters and a depth of about 6 meters. Nothing happened to anyone. The area has been secured.

The sinkhole at the railway embankment to the power plant is – as reported by the Trzebinia commune in social media – “the expected reactivation of the former sinkhole in this area, which was reported on Friday by the Chief National Geologist on the basis of research”. The commune added that the railway embankment with nearby forests, allotments and the southern part of the cemetery in Gaj were indicated as places where sinkholes should be expected.

Read also: They examined the ground in Trzebinia. There may be sinkholes in 90 places

“Both studies for SRK (Spółka Restrukturownictwa Mine – ed.) and those presented by the Chief Geologist of the Country indicate these areas as the most dangerous and vulnerable to reactivation of sinkholes from several decades ago” – emphasized in the entry.

The commune also appealed to residents not to go to these endangered areas, because the risk of further sinkholes is very high.

In mid-February, scientists from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków presented the results of research into the area of ​​Trzebinia, which had been conducted since autumn. The Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute (PIG-NRI) verified these research results and identified places of possible new sinkholes in Trzebinia based on modern research methods based on aerial and satellite data. The verification work of PGI-NRI was commissioned by the chief geologist of the country and at the same time the deputy minister of climate and environment, Piotr Dziadzio.

Zadliska in Trzebinia. Wells and a special substance are to prevent the formation of new ones

“90 points have been marked in this area where sinkholes may form or reactivate. As a result, the ground may collapse. These sinkholes partially coincide with those recorded on aerial photographs from the 1960s. Today they may be subject to reactivation , i.e. restarting, but many of them are completely new. Zones have also been designated where, in addition to these spot places, the ground may collapse. This is the southern part of the cemetery in Trzebinia, as well as the southern part of allotments. these areas from use” – said Piotr Dziadzio, quoted in the communication of the Małopolska Voivodeship Office.

In Trzebinia, in the second half of February, treatment works began near garages and forest areas in the Gaj housing estate. They will last about 20 weeks. Works are also underway on two properties (no. 3 and 5) at ul. Mining. The area of ​​the parish cemetery has been closed.

The problem of the formation of sinkholes is related to the shallow mining exploitation conducted in this area years ago and the rising level of underground waters. According to the social media office, it rises by half a meter on average every month. In some places it is already 12 meters below the surface.

The post-mining damage is caused by the former Siersza hard coal mine, operating in this town since the mid-nineteenth century. In the years 1999-2001 the mine closed down. At the beginning, the exploitation was shallow, at a depth of 20-25 meters. Then the underground passages went lower and lower. The liquidators assumed that the voids left after exploitation would be filled with water. Over time, the water began to come closer and closer to the surface of the earth.