My wife just noticed a dip in our backyard that wasn't there previously. It's probably a foot long, 6 inches wide, and 6 inches deep at most.
Aside from monitoring it, is there anything proactive I can do to prevent/reduce damage?
When we moved in a year ago an orange marker had been placed about 5 feet east of this dip so I was wondering if perhaps a pipe of some kind may have burst creating a cavity that is collapsing. Who would I call to find out if this happened? My parents had something similar on their house and had half the front yard excavated, if I recall the amount they paid was substantial.
My bigger worry is that it's actually a sinkhole. We're in an extreme drought (Williamson County in Texas) and I know the area (Central Texas) is known for aquifers/caves. How do I even begin in detecting this and is there a remedy aside from moving out? Does insurance typically cover this should a giant hole form in my backyard (and potentially suck up my house)?
Maybe it's just dirty sinking in where someone had dug a trench previously, but I only know that the ground was marked and that was over a year ago with no sinking until recently.
Any other reasons the ground may have sunk?
Thanks!
-- gorf