Four sinkholes appear in Westport

The largest of the four sinkholes on the grass verge on Roebuck Street, between the Westport Domain and the street. Photo / Koren Allpress

Four sinkholes have appeared within 150m of each other on a streetside berm in Westport.

A Roebuck Street resident said the holes on the grass verge between Roebuck Street and the Westport Domain started appearing about six months ago, and were "getting bigger and bigger".

He said the holes were "quite sizeable slumps" and thought it would cost a lot of money to patch them up.

If someone were to fall into one, they would be "up to their armpits".

Buller District Council works engineer Tony Robertson said the sinkholes were caused by an aging earthenware sewer main.

The contract documents for the sewer main replacement were almost complete and would go out for tender soon.

The total length of the replacement was just over 180m. The project was estimated to cost $120,000, he said.

"With the mains being so deep, this project needs reasonably dry ground conditions and the use of shutters for construction."

The council and WestReef Services were monitoring the situation, placing barriers around sinkholes as they appeared, he said.

- Westport News