Well has collapsed!

[nectarine]

Asking for a friend who has a 30m well on his property close to his house. It's always been covered for security but over the weekend it collapsed in on itself - he says it looks like a sinkhole. He thinks heavy rain and old bricks in the well have collapsed and are the cause. Insurance says this isn't covered (I asked him to get his mairie to check the policy as a second opinion!). He originally thought about filling in the well but realised it may be part of a watercourse and could cause problems backing up, plus there may be legal repercussions somewhere in this. So, at the moment, he is planning to go to the mayor and inform them and ask for advice - is he legally obliged to repair this. And if so, who does this kind of work? Do the waterways board (SAUR or other) need to be informed? If filled in do he inform the cadastral since this shows the well on his land.

There's a lot of questions and perhaps a lot he hasn't thought about. His main concern is a giant sinkhole just yards from the front door and worry that it might affect his foundations, so he's fenced it off. But if anybody has any experience of this or advice, please voice your opinion and I will let him know.

And thanks in advance for all information and advice.

[Chancer]

Dont fill it in, cap it.

[andyh4]

Agree

The bad news is that if it is a sinkhole, neither capping nor filling in will be a permanent solution.

Where abouts is the house and well? pm me if you do not want to go public on the location.

[nectarine]

PM'd you Andy, thanks.

[andyh4]

PM received.

With a limestone substrata a sink hole is certainly quite possible. The good news (or at least less bad news) is that limestone tends to be relatively stable, so the solid bits of rock (under the house for example) are not likely to collapse. There may still be further run in of surface earth however.

Of course without having an on site survey done it is impossible to be certain and that is what he really needs to do next. Someone at the Mairie may be able to advise who could do this.