Mayor Calls Gorsky Sinkhole Worst Accident in Decades

Restoration work continues in the Gorsky microdistrict of Novosibirsk after a large ground sinkhole near building No. 10. Wastewater flow has now been restored, and utility services are preparing a plan for further work. This was reported at a staff meeting at the city hall on July 21.

Dmitry Zaikov, head of the Department of Energy, Housing and Utilities of the Novosibirsk City Hall, reported on the situation. According to him, the emergency section was restored within a few hours.

“In the Gorsky microdistrict near building No. 10, a sinkhole occurred. A two-meter collector at a depth of 18 meters was clogged with reinforced concrete. The collector broke, reinforced concrete got inside, which reduced its capacity. Now the emergency in terms of passage has been eliminated, and wastewater flow is carried out in full,” — said Dmitry Zaikov.

According to him, it took about 10 hours to clear the collector, after which water began to drain again. Now specialists have to restore damaged sections of the drainage and water supply systems. There is also a 500 mm diameter pipe in the area, which puts additional pressure on the system. For the work, utility workers had to perform large-scale switchovers throughout the microdistrict.

“To take measures to restore sections of both the drainage system and the damaged water supply system, we had to make a large switchover across the entire district. We are developing an action plan to eliminate the damage, which will clearly set deadlines. Gorvodokanal (the Novosibirsk water utility) is working at 100%, but so far they cannot find a positive solution to shorten the deadlines,” — said the department head.

Mayor Maxim Kudryavtsev noted that in the first days after the accident, utility services worked effectively, but now the city expects full restoration of the territory.

“On the positive side, I note that the first days were worked quite well and it took only 10 hours to reduce the parameters. Nevertheless, residents are waiting for the final result: backfilling the pit with inert materials and landscaping. Organize the processes, restore the chamber,” — Maxim Kudryavtsev instructed.

The city head called the incident one of the most serious utility accidents in recent years and noted that it is important to keep the situation under daily control.

“I think we haven’t had such a utility accident for many years, perhaps decades. Nevertheless, this situation has arisen, and it must be monitored daily,” — added the mayor.

The city head stressed that the site must be restored as quickly as possible with minimal damage to the city

We reported more about the problem in our online chronicle. All news on the topic can be read in a special feature.