BAYOU CORNE, LA (WAFB) -
Pressure building beneath the surface of the Bayou Corne community has sparked a new concern for residents who live near the sinkhole.
Vent wells are being dug in the four acre slurry to vent an unknown gas.
The wet sands are under a layer of clay, which has residents worried pressure might build underground.
"I used to love to go fishing. But with those gas bubbles but now I wouldn't trust the fish in the bayou," Kenneth Marroy said.
Marroy likes to relax to the calming sounds of nature on his front porch. But that has been replaced by a loud manmade noise.
"I hear banging every once in a while. They pushing those pipes down in there in ground," Marroy said.
Residents are hearing the sound of casing being driven into the ground for three observation wells being installed near the slurry.
Assumption Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness Director John Boudreaux said the strategy is to install two wells east of the sinkhole where geologists believe gas is present, and another on the west side as a precautionary measure.
Boudreaux said if pressure went above 75 to 85 pounds per square inch, the clay layer might not be able to hold back the accumulated gas. If all activities remain on schedule, flaring may be seen as early as Thursday or Friday.
"The potential risk is it can find its way through clay when it gets to that pressure and not knowing what that point would be a problem," Boudreaux said.
Six Geoprobes have been installed on the Triche property and more are currently being installed on Dugas & LeBlanc property. DNR is currently negotiating with land owners to install Geoprobes on residential properties in the immediate area.
Residents were forced from their homes on August third, two months after the bayous started bubbling.
The resident briefing will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m., at the command post in Pierre Part.
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Sinkhole observation well installation
Geoprobing near giant sinkhole
Sinkhole observation well
