Man warning neighbors about massive sinkhole opening up in his yard in Lawrence County

A man is warning people about a massive sinkhole that has opened up in his yard. — A man is warning people about a massive sinkhole that has opened up in his yard.

It’s five feet wide and 20 feet deep, and he says it gets worse every time it rains.

Fred Califato said the hole that formed outside his house started to open up around Easter when we had some heavy rains, but it got much bigger just this weekend.

He says both Shenango Township and PennDOT say it’s not their fault.

His biggest concern is that someone will fall into the massive sinkhole on his property. He says people often cut through the yard to get to the nearby Dollar General.

“Do not cut through here anymore!” Califato said.

“Before it was only like that, like right here at the edge. I had that one little board covering up the corner of it and it opened up to that and I know it’s only gonna get worse.”

First, he called Shenango Township. He says the township told him it’s PennDOT’s pipe. The pipe, Califato says, runs under his property and across West Pittsburg Road and carries storm runoff that comes down the hill into the drains. He then called PennDOT, and someone came out to check it.

“When it got bigger, I called them up again on Monday and said we’ve got to do something, and they said it’s not their responsibility, it’s the homeowners,” Califato said.

Channel 11 asked PennDOT about the sinkhole. They sent a statement saying --

“It is the property owner’s responsibility to control stormwater once it enters their property and is governed by the Ditch & Drainage Act under Section 417. Additionally, it appears that a pipe was attached to the department’s outlet pipe. That added pipe is the responsibility of the property owner and requires a permit.”

Still, Califato thinks PennDot should try to keep the hole from growing.

“Eliminate that water from coming through my property. They can find another way to have it go, and I’ll just fill in the hole and we’ll be done with it!” Califato said.

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