Exploring the sinkhole at Brodie Lane and West Slaughter Lane in Austin, Texas.

The sinkhole at Brodie Lane and West Slaughter Lane is one of Austin’s lesser known sinkholes which is owned by the City of Austin. This is one of the fascinating geographical elements of Austin. There is a small voidspace underneath the entrance which is barely large enough for one person to crawl or climb through let alone a whole group go inside of. There are boulders in the sinkhole. The sinkhole is less than 3 feet in length, diameter, and size. Now the outside perimeter is slightly bigger. The length inside this sinkhole is believed to be as much as 15 feet long. Airflow is quite constricted.

The sinkhole at Brodie Lane and West Slaughter is also known as Country White Sinkhole which is Country White Sinkhole on the Violet Crown Trail. This sinkhole is connected to Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. The water below there flows through the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone into Barton Springs. (Ref: https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=223628)

This sinkhole is located on Brodie Wild, a 4.4 acre water quality protection property at the corner of Slaughter Lane and Brodie Lane. Brodie Wild is a cooperative project between the Austin chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas, the Native Prairies Association of Texas, and the City of Austin Water and Wastewater Department Wildlands Conservation Division. (Ref: https://www.npsot.org/Austin/BrodieWild/default.html)

Due to the streets, businesses, and residential areas bordering the sinkhole, trash tends to blow into the sinkhole and stays there. Also, the storm runoff area at the northwest corner of the property tends to wash trash into the sinkhole. Disturbance from construction appears to have disturbed the sinkhole.  This has led to some disturbance of the sinkhole. The sinkhole also appears to be disturbed periodically due to the force of the water. City of Austin Water possesses a right of way diagonally through the property, from approximately the northwest corner to the southeast corner. (Ref: https://npsot.org/Austin/BrodieWild/Brodie%20Wild%20Site%20Plan.html)

Cars have — for decades — been driving within 200 feet of completely unprotected caves and sinkholes along Brodie Lane that drain directly into Edwards Aquifer. The existence of traffic so close to these unprotected caves and sinkholes on Brodie Lane, resulting in no degradation of Barton Springs, makes one question how Texas 45 Southwest could do any harm at all. (Ref: https://www.statesman.com/news/20160924/aleshire-stay-on-course-with-south-mopac-extension)


However development or any sort of construction is prohibited around sinkholes as protection of recharge features are required by Section 7.1 in the SBCA handbook. (Ref: SBCA Section 7.1)

In no event shall any construction related to such new improvements, as described in Section 7.1, occur within ISO feet of a sinkhole or other recharge feature The following construction is permitted within 150 feet of a sinkhole or recharge feature construction for the purposes of restoring natural drainages as permitted within the confines of existing state and local codes and regulations ("Permissible construction") Such Permissible Construction shall include clearing accumulated debris blocking flow to a sinkhole or recharge feature, constructing of a cave gate, and other drainage improvements to a sinkhole or recharge feature. (Ref: https://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=78646)

This sinkhole is located at 3501 West Slaughter Lane, Austin, Texas, US 78749.