A sinkhole opens over a Pittsburgh storm sewer, causing damage to church grounds

Last week, a sinkhole formed on the grounds of a church in Pittsburgh due to a failed storm drain.

Staff at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Pittsburgh say crews cleaning the fountain in the church garden on Wednesday, Jan. 11, alerted them to a sinkhole in the garden.

“So we went out and checked it out and informed the city, and the city has been working on it since last Wednesday,” explained Jerry Brochu, who runs the church.

Pittsburgh officials said the sinkhole was caused by a failed storm drain that supplies water from nearby Kirker Creek.

Pittsburgh Public Works Director and City Engineer John Samuelson explained Saturday that the city has a storm sewer line that runs Kirker Creek from one side of Harbor Street to the other side near the church.

“So when this heavy rain hit the area, it couldn’t move all the water in the stream from one side of the stream to the other. So the water found another way that went across the street through the church. property,” Samuelson said.

Since Wednesday, the church has installed a security fence to keep people out of the garden. The area around the funnel is covered with tarpaulins and sandbags.

Brochu said that in the last few days the crater had grown to 23 feet deep and 30 feet wide. He added that the sinkhole swallowed tree branches, sandbags and even a 15-foot-tall lamppost. Brochu noted that during the day on Sunday, about 8 feet of shore around the sinkhole turned into a hole.

During a storm on Saturday, floodwaters poured onto Harbor Street, where the church is located. Water on Saturday destroyed a long section of the outer wall separating the church grounds from the street.

On Saturday, Pittsburgh police went door-to-door in the area, urging residents to prepare for a possible evacuation. As of Sunday evening, the city told NBC Bay Area that law enforcement had not evacuated the homes.

The city closed off Harbor Street from Yosemite Drive to Greystone Place due to Saturday’s flooding. That section remains closed, and Pittsburgh City Manager Garrett Evans said in an email Sunday night that the city hopes to reopen the closed section on Tuesday.

In an email Saturday night, Evans noted that once the water recedes, the city can begin work on its short-term plan to fix the storm sewer malfunction.

“The long term plan and full fix will come later,” Evans said.

Leaders of the Good Shepherd Church say the failure did not damage the church itself, only the garden. Mass was held as usual on Sunday. Parishioners said they were grateful that the church building was not damaged.

Brochu told NBC Bay Area that he was really worried that the church’s fountain or engraved bricks could be damaged as the sinkhole widens. But on the whole, he remains calm, noting with a laugh, “God has made insurance against such problems.”