BS: The Case of The Missing Lake

Subject: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Amergin
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 03:41 PM

Where is Enclyopedia Brown when you need him?

Woe! Lake begone!
23-acre body of water disappears in St. Louis suburbThe Associated Press
Updated: 4:42 p.m. ET June 11, 2004WILDWOOD, Mo. - To folks around Wildwood, it is nothing but freaky: an entire 23-acre lake vanished in a matter of days, as if someone pulled the plug on a bathtub.

Lake Chesterfield went down a sinkhole this week, leaving homeowners in this affluent St. Louis suburb wondering if their property values disappeared along with their lakeside views.

"It's real creepy," said Donna Ripp, who lives near what had been Lake Chesterfield. "That lake was 23 acres — no small lake. And to wake up one morning, drive by and it's gone?"

What once was an oasis for waterfowl and sailboats was nothing but a muddy, cracked pit outlined by rotting fish.

The sight had 74-year-old George English scratching his head.

"It's disheartening, getting out on your deck and seeing this," he said as he stood next to wife, Betty, and the "lakeside" condominium they bought in 1996 for its view. "One day it's a beautiful lake, and now, bingo, it's gone."

Some residents said they noticed that the lake, after being swelled by torrential rains weeks earlier, began falling last weekend. The Englishes said they noticed the drop-off Monday.

By Wednesday, the manmade lake — normally seven to 10 feet deep in spots — had been reduced to a mucky, stinky mess.

David Taylor, a geologist who inspected the lakebed Wednesday, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the sinkhole was formed when water eroded the limestone deep underground and created pockets in the rock. The sinkhole was "like a ticking time bomb."

The lake and surrounding housing development date to the late 1980s. The development now includes more than 670 condominiums and houses, about one-tenth of them bordering the lake.

Because the lake is private property, the subdivision's residents will have to cover the cost of fixing it, probably through special property assessments. George English expects it to cost $1,000 a household.

It is a price English said he is willing to pay. He just wants the unsightly pit gone, either by refilling it with water or dumping enormous amounts of dirt into it to create green space or usable land.

"I think it'll come back again," he said. "You have to hope they can fix it."

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 04:05 PM

Interesting story. They're lucky their houses didn't topple down that hole following the lake.

As an aside, have you noticed that all of these internet news articles have what amount to 1-sentence paragraphs? Apparently they don't think we're capable of following the story if it's written in a more traditional style. I post stories regularly and make a point of sticking the sentences together in logical paragraphs because they take a lot less space (and Joe sometimes lops the really long stuff, though I haven't seen evidence of that for quite a while).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Ebbie
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 04:28 PM

Darn. I've been saying for some time that if you want to move or get rid of a lake or other body of water, do it in the wintertime when it's frozen solid. All you do is come in with the big saws and the heavy equipment, cut up the ice, load the blocks onto flatbeds and truck them to the new destination. Dump the truck in strategic locations- you needn't even spread the ice blocks- spring will take care of that...

And now someone has figured out how to do it in the summer time.

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Rapparee
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 05:01 PM

Sinkhole, huh? Somebody pump out the subsurface water? They build the lake over a geologic cavity?

Actually, I find the whole thing rather amusing. I'm certain that a bunch dead, stinking fish in a 23 acre muckhole doesn't amuse the residents.

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Amergin
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 05:33 PM

no especially since they paid alot of money to live there...lol

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: ranger1
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 10:27 PM

Am I an evil person for finding this wildly funny? I really wish I could have seen it, I want to know if it gurgled as it went, like someone pulled the plug out of the drain! Hey, maybe that's what really happened! Somebody found the drain plug! And no, I wasn't anywhere near the place when it happened!!!

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: JennyO
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 10:47 PM

Hmmm. Highly suspicious. I'm wondering where Ozmacca was at the time.

If you look at this thread "Art-What is on your walls?" on the Annexe, you will find that Ozmacca has been offering to sell pieces of our Harbour Bridge to the Brits, and they requested water to go with it. Maybe the instant water didn't work out ;-) Hey Ozmacca - what do you have to say for yourself?

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: freda underhill
Date: 12 Jun 04 - 11:30 PM

Lake George, 40 kilometres north-east of Canberra, in eastern Australia, is another disappearing lake. My father used to take us there for picnics when I was a kid. The lake appears and disappears every few years. It takes several years of above-average rainfall to fill the lake. Lake George measures 25km long by 10km across at its widest point, and covers 169 square kilometres. There are ancient sand dunes and beaches further away, left from a time when the lake was much bigger. In the known past, Lake George's depth has been as great as 7.5 metres but usually ranges between 1.5m and 4.5m. In the past 40 years, Lake George has been dry, or close to it, in 1982-83, 1986, 1987 and 1988.

Water birds flock to it when it fills. The lake has reportedly been used for sculling and swimming races and even excursions on a steamer. More recently, people have used it for fishing and skiing. When the lake is dry, it becomes pasture for cattle and sheep. Native grasses grow on its almost laser-level lake bed. People have speculated for decades about where the water goes when the lake is empty. Some locals believe the lake to be connected via underground caverns to another lake sited variously in New Zealand, China or South Africa. When Lake George is full, so the story goes, its counterpart is empty.

Some thought the lake had previously been an active volcano. Lake George is deceptive. Many people swear they have seen its levels change in the space of hours. In the last ice age, the Lake George basin was a dry, open, windy steppe. It wasn't until 6000 years ago that the tree line began to return to the lake shores. It is now thought that people have inhabited the region for at least 20,000 years. The lake is said to have formed a border between the Ngunawal people – bogong moth hunters of the Snowy Mountains – and the Gundungurra, who ranged north past Goulburn. And the lake's pattern of advance and retreat would have made it unreliable as an economic hub.

Studies have shown that the lake appears and disappears in response to rainfall and evaporation. When the lake is empty, the sheep and cattle graze on the wide grassy plain until the ancient cycle begins again, and the fish reclaim Lake George.

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Alba
Date: 13 Jun 04 - 09:27 PM

I lived in Ballyvaughan, Ireland and had a lake behind my House called a "turlough" A disappearing Lake. You would wake up one morning and the Cows would be grazing in the Field directly behind my Cottage then when I would come Home that night after it had rained the same Field would be a Lake with the Moon shining on it.
The water would disappear into Limestone undergound Caverns.
The disappearing Lakes are quite Famous on the west Coast.
You can read about them here: Disappearing Lakes
Brightest Blessings
Jude

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Blackcatter
Date: 13 Jun 04 - 09:50 PM

Ironically enough, in Central Florida that's how we get new lakes.

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: GUEST,John H. Watson, MD
Date: 13 Jun 04 - 10:26 PM

The rain of a late Spring storm beat on the windows of Baker Street. Holmes had just arisen and was busily collecting his first pipe of the day from the dottles on the mantel.

"Hullo," I exclaimed. "Here's someone knocking us up in this weather." And straightaway Mrs. Hudson appeared, a card on the silver salver.

Holmes examined it. "A American," he stated. "From the 'Show-Me State'. We'll have to be at our best edge, Watson, for she is undoubtedly a skeptic. Please show the young lady in, Mrs. Hudson."

"Holmes," I exclaimed, "I'm certain that you deduced her home from her card, but how the Devil did you know her age?"

"Simple, Watson," he replied, "Few women over thirty are named 'Jennifer Lisa.' But I believe that this is the woman herself."

The door opened and Mrs. Hudson handsome woman in her mature years. Holmes looked at me and shrugged.

"Mr. Holmes? I'm Jennifer L. St. Charles of St. Louis, Missouri." She extended her hand to me; I smiled and pointed to Holmes.

"John H. Watson, Miz St. Charles. Mr. Holmes is there." She flushed prettily.

"Mr. Holmes," she said, recovering nicely from her slight gaffe. "I understand that you prefer a complete, yet succinct, statement of the facts." Holmes bowed. "Briefly put, Mr. Holmes, my lake is missing. Can you take the case?"

And so began one of our most interesting adventures. One that would take us across the Atlantic, to the Western bank of the Father of Waters, and to the worst sinkholes of filth and slime imaginable. Oh, yes, Professor Moriarty had more than a finger in this pie; Holmes remarked on it almost at once.

(To be continued, perhaps. If so, it will be as edited as the rest of the Canon. Ms. St. Charles was an extremely handsome, and experienced, woman. And I, unlike Holmes, have a normal hormonal balance.)

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Amos
Date: 13 Jun 04 - 10:33 PM

Bravo, Watson! Come, continue!

A

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: GUEST,John H. Watson, MD
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 03:42 PM

Ms. St. Charles left, and Holmes, slapping out the sparks from his pipe which threatened to set his ratty old mouse-coloured dressing gown afire, said, "Watson, I've been called upon to investigate a missing Three Quarter, a speckled band, an engineer's missing thumb. A vampire in Sussex held no terrors, nor did a dog on the Great Grimpen Moor. But a lake? Watson, a twenty-three acre lake has vanished!"

His eyes were glinting with the look of the hunt, the look I knew so well.

"For Chrissakes man, why aren't you packed yet? The Blue Star sails for New Orleans within the next two hours! And don't forget either your revolver or your passport!"

It was one of our more exciting crossings, as the ship was a converted guano transport. Even though we were in first class, the odour of the former cargo seemed to have permeated the very timbers and I could only imagine what it was like for the poor sods in steerage. Holmes, as was his wont, was seasick for the entire crossing and recovered only after we'd been three days ashore.

After a fast rail journey north, we were comfortably ensconced at the "Rackham le Rouge," the finest hotel in St. Louis.

"Watson," exclaimed Holmes after an exquisite meal of the local cuisine, "tomorrow morning we shall investigate the scene of the crime. Let me suggest that you go to sleep early, as I am certain that tomorrow will tax your physical prowess to the utmost. And you're not getting any younger, you know."

This fell in with my own plans, as did the lovely Ms. St. Charles. Thank goodness, I thought again, that I insisted upon seperate suites. I had no idea what Holmes might be up to in his rooms, but I knew exactly what I was going to be doing.


(To be continued)

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: GUEST,Blackcatter
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 03:49 PM

More, more!


By the way - I know why someone would take a leak, but why a lake? And it's a shame that someone didn't take a leak in this particular lake, since that would have helped the lake from leaking.

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Amos
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 03:50 PM

Oooo -- suspense!! I love it!

A

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: GUEST,Blackcatter
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 03:57 PM

By the way - here's a link you info about Florida Sinkholes, including the famous Winter Park Sinkhole: Florida Sinkholes

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 10:18 PM

And if it's like a lot of those Florida sinkholes, the surrounding propertyowners will may stop worrying about the loss of the lake and say bye-bye to their homes as they are gradually dropped into the expanding sinkhole.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 14 Jun 04 - 11:40 PM

Missouri, like Kentucky, where I worked as a cave guide for about 18 months, has what is known in geological circles as "Karst topography" (named for an area in Turkey, according to my Turkish uncle who is a geophysicist). It has to do with layers of limestone disolving and leaving cavities under the surface. Eventually they sag and if they have contents like lakes or houses or roads, they go down through the hole. Sink holes just appear without warning, and the hole, when enlarged over time or mechanically, can provide access into area caves. I can't imagine successfully refilling that lake--knowing that the "plug" is likely to erode and drop through just like the original lake bottom.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: GUEST,John H. Watson, MD
Date: 15 Jun 04 - 10:16 PM

The knocking on the door awakened me, and I must confess that did not want to arise. It was so warm and nice in bed, with a warm body sharing it. Ah, well, it couldn't be helped. I put on my slippers and dressing gown and opened the door.

It was a buttons, a bell-boy as they are called in America.

"Dr. Watson? Your friend Mr. Holmes left instructions for breakfast at 7, but I have been knocking and can't get him to answer. Could you help, please?"

This was unlike Holmes, and thoughts of what might be wrong flooded my brain. I excused myself for a moment and pulled on my trousers and a shirt. Ms. St. Charles was stirring, and I quickly explained. She sat upright in the bed, and the picture presented when the bedclothes dropped away nearly made me forget Holmes entirely.

Duty called, however, and I went with the bell-boy to obtain a key from the Manager on duty.

We opened the door to Holmes' suite and while the bell-boy waited I investigated. Holmes was indeed in and he was in bed. Alone and asleep.

I noted the morroco injection kit and knew immediately why he hadn't awakened. Holmes had been experimenting with a new drug, called heroin, and I was certain that this opium derivative had, in American slang, "knocked him for a loop."

His breathing was regular, his pulse strong. Holmes was, indeed, deeply asleep.

I picked Holmes' key off the table and then returned to the bell-boy.

"Mr. Holmes is asleep, that is all. He was very tired last evening and must not have heard your knock. If you will leave his breakfast I will see that he eats it. Oh, and in two hours, would you be so kind as to bring round a large pot of coffee?" I tipped him and he left, taking the house key with him.

Locking Holmes' door, I went back to my suite. Ms. St. Charles was dressed and ready to leave.

"So soon?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied. "I'm afraid so. Here's my telephone number; please ring me when Mr. Holmes wishes to visit the scene of the crime. Or," she added, blushing prettily, "If you feel the need to consult with me on certain points."

I kissed her hand, and she left. A very handsome -- and knowing -- woman indeed.

(TBC)

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: GUEST,andrew
Date: 28 Jul 04 - 11:26 PM

i actually live in the neighboorhood bordering lake chesterfield no less than 2 minutes away. It was an amazing site as all the water slowly drained down the banks and you could see all the dead fish and there were a few bikes and a sail boat around the empty pit.I would hate to live there right now cause now all the residence are left with the repair bill. that sucks.

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 29 Jul 04 - 12:56 AM

The problem with privatising lakes is that the Government will then not fix it for you....

In Australia, we have Lake Eyre, another disappearing lake. A huge salt bed, every so many years. It takes weeks for the water to flow down to reach it when it rains sufficiently in the headwaters. Sometimes, evaporation and absorption mean that the water never gets there.

This calls for a song...

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: BanjoRay
Date: 29 Jul 04 - 04:33 PM

I'm sure one of the villains in the story is going to be a harp playing Irish geologist called Turlough O'Karstland.
Cheers
Ray

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: PoppaGator
Date: 29 Jul 04 - 05:12 PM

Turloughs in Ireland are at least seasonal -- they'll reappear (fill back up again) every year, and I believe their sites serve well enough as grazing land during the "disappeared" phase.

The disappearance of that Misdsouri like into a sinkhole is something else again -- it's permenent (barring an major expensive effort).

Subject: RE: BS: The Case of The Missing Lake
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 29 Jul 04 - 05:16 PM

A Turkish geophysicist uncle? Man, that's a new one on me. Anyway, I can't imagine buying that lakefront property when they fill it up for another go. (or letting my kids sleep there.)