Williamson County Submits Cave Closure Plan To TCEQ

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — County officials have finished required studies and engineering reports submitted to environmental regulators to propose methods of closing a subterranean cave discovered after part of a roadway buckled.

The underground cave beneath Cambria Deive was exposed after collapsing one early morning in February. A leaking water pipe slowly disintegrated the roof of the cave until it collapsed, taking a big chunk of the street along with it. Since then, officials have been safeguarding the cave to prevent further collapse while figuring out a way to seal it back up.

The proposals submitted to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulators aims to end the saga of the underground cave for good. The street collapse occurred around 3 a.m. at the Woods of Brushy Creek neighborhood situated between Highway 183 and Cedar Park on the west and Interstate 35 and Round Rock to the east. Residents say they heard what they believed was thunder amid the collapse.

The TCEQ proposal includes excavating all rock and debris from the cave from when the roof collapsed so there is a clean cave floor, officials said in a press advisory. The plan also includes evaluating the void that was discovered during core sampling, officials added. Finally, the plan includes capping the cave so that direct surface water runoff is not conveyed directly into the aquifer, officials noted.

County officials said details of the plan will be made available once the draft plan is approved by the TCEQ. 3-D mapping technology will be used to map the cave to help provide a more accurate picture of the exact size of the cave, officials said.

>>> Photo of underground cave provided by Williamson County