1) the sinkhole is only about 600 feet in diameter and the depth to water in the hole is on the order of 25 to 30 feet. The actual depth of the hole is unknown. It may be a few feet beneath the present water surface or it could be much deeper. Soundings will need to be made to determine actual depth and this is not feasible until the hole and its walls have stabilized.

2) the sinkhole is not the result of the collapse of the salt dome; rather, it is a collapse of a solution cavity in the salt and/or caprock — not the salt dome itself.

Sinkholes over salt domes are a natural phenomena and a geohazard for the Gulf Coast. In the case of the Daisetta sinkhole origination, there are three possibilities:

1) the sinkhole is an entirely natural phenomenon.

2) the sinkhole may have been created by dissolution of salt and/or caprock wherein such dissolution is a result of injection of oilfield brines and other waste.

3) the sinkhole could be a natural solution cavity at depth that was exacerbated by subsurface fluid injection.

Until sufficient subsurface data has been gathered, analyzed, and correlated with pumping data, it will remain uncertain as to the actual cause of the sinkhole. Even then, the cause may remain uncertain.

The immediate concern for the sinkhole is the threat to public safety. Monitoring of surface movement and sinkhole expansion is ongoing on several fronts.