Andrew Reeves, Hawkins’ Marketing Director, was recently invited to present at the Chartered Association of Building Engineer’s (CABE) Southern Region technical conference. His presentation titled “Sinkholes: Their Causes, Impact on Buildings, and How to Prevent Them’ drew on a decade of experience investigating sinkholes across various locations in the UK.
You can read Andrews previous case studies on ground investigation issues here.
As an introduction, Andrew outlined his background as a geotechnical engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, as well as an overview of Hawkins and its capabilities, particularly in the Built Environment, highlighting the expertise of our team of 35 professionals, including civil, structural and fire engineers, architects, acousticians and hydrologists.
Andrew then explained what sinkholes are, describing the different formation mechanisms that lead to types such as ‘drop-out’ and ‘collapse’ dolines. He discussed the geological conditions under which sinkholes typically occur – primarily in areas with soluble rocks such as chalk and salt, which are found in diagonal bands across UK. He noted that wash-out dolines, which involve large volumes of water, often over short periods of time, are frequently associated with burst water mains. However, it can be difficult to determine whether the sinkhole was caused by the burst main or was created by it.
Using a number of case studies, Andrew then demonstrated how Hawkins investigates sinkhole cases. This includes desk-based research using historical maps and on-site investigations supported by drone technology. He then explored the damage and disruption sinkholes can cause to households and communities, and discussed mitigation strategies such as enhanced site investigations and monitoring of water mains. He also highlighted how climate change will likely increase the frequency and severity of sinkhole events.
To conclude, Andrew guided the audience through the publicly-available information on the recent Godstone sinkhole, suggesting a likely link to historic underground mining activity in the area.
Andrew would like to thank CABE for their invitation to speak at their conference.
