Lisa Veefkind was shocked when a sinkhole started forming in her backyard near Berkey’s Corner several weeks ago.
She said the sinkhole has gotten larger since she first discovered it near her Koi pond and now measures approximately six to eight feet wide and more than 13 feet deep.
Veefkind has since discovered that her property on Westridge Road, which she bought seven years ago, was part of a farm and orchard approximately 60 or 70 years ago, and she has concluded that the sinkhole is a result of an old well from the farm that had been abandoned and forgotten.
She said she called in an excavation company to determine the costs of dealing with the sinkhole before it does any more damage to her backyard, and was quoted between $8,000 and $10,000 to fix it, which is money that she doesn’t have.
“I called [the Municipality of] North Cowichan and they had a crew come out with a camera to investigate the sinkhole,” she said. “They concluded that North Cowichan was not at fault and left.”
Asked what the municipal crew discovered in their examination and what Veefkind should do to deal with the issue, North Cowichan issued a statement confirming the municipality was contacted by a homeowner regarding a sinkhole on their private property, and that it’s not North Cowichan’s problem.
“Municipal staff conducted a camera inspection to assist in identifying the issue and to determine if it was municipal infrastructure,” the statement said. “The investigation confirmed that the sinkhole is not related to municipal infrastructure, and as the property is privately owned, any further assessment or remediation is the responsibility of the homeowner.”
North Cowichan could not confirm if the sinkhole is the result of an abandoned well.
As the property was once part of a farm, Veefkind also contacted the Ministry of Agriculture and Food to see what, if anything, the government can do to assist.
In a response to the Citizen, the ministry said it understands and sympathizes with Veefkind in what the ministry is sure was a stressful situation to discover a sinkhole on her property.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Food staff have let the resident know that they should follow up with the local government on the next steps, including who is doing the work and the cost involved,” the ministry said in a statement.
“They are the authority with jurisdiction in this situation. The province doesn’t provide funding for sinkhole repairs on private property. It is recommended the resident reviews their home insurance policy and follow up with their insurance company to see if they have coverage for sinkholes.”
Veefkind wonders if the original property owners who owned the farm could be legally obligated to at least assist with some of the costs of dealing with the sinkhole, but many years have passed and B.C. law clearly states that unless a person has a direct connection to the property, like being a co-owner or having inherited it, they are unlikely to be held responsible for any issues related to it.
But Veefkind said she’s undeterred and, considering that so many homes and other buildings in the area have also been built on former farmland, she wonders if others are experiencing similar problems and would like to join with her in an effort to get some sort of recompense as a group.
She can be reached at 250-466-6602.
In the meantime, Veefkind has begun a GoFundMe page, which can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/lisa-g-veefkinds-legacy-to-her-mom-dad, to help raise the money needed to deal with the sinkhole.
