







window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-5', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 5', target_type: 'mix' });









window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-9', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 9', target_type: 'mix' });













Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Image 2 of 10 Reporters at the scene of the giant ditch in Richmond Tuesday morning, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Reporters at the scene of the giant ditch in Richmond Tuesday morning, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Image 3 of 10 Reporters at the scene of the giant ditch in Richmond Tuesday morning, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Reporters at the scene of the giant ditch in Richmond Tuesday morning, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Image 4 of 10 A nearby house near the giant ditch in Richmond Tuesday morning, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) A nearby house near the giant ditch in Richmond Tuesday morning, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Image 5 of 10 Image 6 of 10 Giant ditch opens up in Richmond, sending homeowners into a panic. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Giant ditch opens up in Richmond, sending homeowners into a panic. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Image 7 of 10 Giant ditch opens up in Richmond, sending homeowners into a panic. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Giant ditch opens up in Richmond, sending homeowners into a panic. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Image 8 of 10 Giant ditch opens up in Richmond, sending homeowners into a panic. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Giant ditch opens up in Richmond, sending homeowners into a panic. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Image 9 of 10 Dump trucks from the Fort Bend County Drainage District line up with dirt to fill in the ditch. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Dump trucks from the Fort Bend County Drainage District line up with dirt to fill in the ditch. Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Johnny Hanson / Chronicle) Image 10 of 10 Growing gorge worries neighbors in Fort Bend 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

Residents in the Richmond area are increasingly worried about a drainage ditch near their homes that has been eroding and expanding into a gorge, now nicknamed the “Fort Bend County Grand Canyon.”

The problem began last weekend after a storm dumped 8 to 10 inches of rain over the area. The earth that sometimes carried runoff to the Brazos River began giving way with huge sections of land crumbling into the rushing water, officials said. What’s left is a gorge that now looks big enough to swallow a house. It’s about 30 feet deep, 80 feet at its widest point and 1700 feet long, said Mark Vogler, chief engineer at the Fort Bend County Drainage District.

Vogler said Tuesday morning that crews have stabilized the erosion and once the weather clears up, they will haul dirt and reconstruct the area. He said the crews have been able to use concrete barriers to prevent the gorge from getting wider.

Katherine Siller, who has lived on River Forest Drive for 12 years, said the gorge is about two block from her house. She said the rains were “pretty heavy” and the residents are fortunate that no one was hurt and no property was damaged.

“Mother Nature threw a pretty good storm at us,” Siller said. “Texas is a land of droughts punctuated by the occasional flood…This is terribly exciting, no doubt, but I think things worked out pretty well considering what Mother Nature threw at us.”

The erosion has left a natural gas transmission line completely exposed, adding to residents’ concerns about safety. Vogler said he has seen such a gorge form quickly before — at the same spot in 1985. At that time, the pipeline blew out. He said the company is now considering putting the pipeline underground.

Resident Eric Larimore, who also lives on River Forest, said the gorge looks like the Grand Canyon. He said the most alarming thing is the pipeline “just hanging out.” He has lived in the area for about four years and lives three houses down from the giant pit.

“You can never plan for 11 inches of rain the short amount of time that we had; It’s almost impossible,” Larimore said. “I was amazed. I’ve never seen any kind of erosion on that scale.”

He said the rain also damaged his backyard, where they lost 20 yard portion of their fence and part of the ground behind it.

With more rain in the forecast today, residents worry about what’s next, considering the growing ditch along the backs of their houses. Located nearby is a bridge that provides access to several homes in the subdivision.

“If the rain comes like it did Saturday, we would have problems,” Volger said. “We don’t expect that.”

He warned that residents should stay away from the banks because the area surrounding the gorge could still be unstable.