Crews continue to work to backfill an 80-foot-wide sinkhole on private property off Scott Lake Road in south Lakeland.
On Monday, an excavator was seen filling the hole with dirt. The hole had filled with water.
The repairs are being done by the property owners, county officials said.
According to a document sent by Southwest Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the property is the site of a project called “Acres at Scott Lake.”
Residents said a housing development is in the works.
The sinkhole opened up due to well drilling, county officials said Friday.
“When the well was being drilled about 180 feet they hit, broke through something, a hard layer, and then it was pretty much a void down to 300 feet so the assumption is and they said they started seeing depression starting to occur,” said Jay Jarvis, county roads & drainage director.
The sinkhole reminds some residents of what occurred on Scott Lake nearly two decades ago.
“It did trigger those memories. You wonder if a sinkhole pops up over there, could this one pop up again?” said David Norton, whose family owns a home on Scott Lake.
In 2006, a sinkhole emptied the 250-acre Scott Lake and damaged homes.
“What struck me was all these docks suddenly became useless. People had boats stuck in them and wouldn’t be able to use them for some time,” said Norton.
Residents said it took up to 10 years for the lake to fill back up.
SWFMD spokesperson Susanna Martinez Tarokh told the media the agency has not noticed anything out of the ordinary on Scott Lake since it was notified of the sinkhole activity.
“We cannot make any predictions about the sinkhole’s behavior, or whether or not it could spread into Scott Lake,” Tarokh wrote in a statement.
Norton is hopeful the sinkhole will not become an issue for residents along the lake.
“I was relieved to see it was over half a mile away and it appeared to be somewhat stable or contained and I’m still optimistic it’ll be something that’ll be remedied soon,” said Norton.
As of Monday afternoon, the area of Scott Lake Road south of Fitzgerald Road remained closed to traffic.