FORT STOCKTON, Tex. (CBS/KOSA) -- A West Texas city's main water source is being threatened by an unknown crevice in the ground that many say is growing by the day. There is a lot of urgency as city officials plan to protect the main water line from violently shifting ground.
Fifteen feet deep and a few miles long, officials don't know what caused this, but they say it could be a major threat to their water source.
The force of the ground separating could separate the main water line to the city of Fort Stockton plus there are major transmission lines running through this part of the county.
Paul Weatherby with the Middle Pecos Ground Water District says the ground near their main water source started cracking a couple of weeks ago. As of right now, the city of Ft. Stockton says it's their only source of water. He says, "We ruptured this line about two years ago and it almost shut us down"
Councilman Billy Jackson was the first to discover the mysterious cracks. He says, "We were surveying some feral hog damage when we came across this crack in the ground."
And at first they did not know what to think of it, so they called in the U.S. Geological Survey and the natural resources conservation service.
"The NRCS believes it comes down to two different types of soil, on my left its clay...on my right its lime stone gravel when it heats up they separate. We've had one large rain through here which causes these crevices to increase in size"
Weatherby says there is no indication that it is a fault line, but says the crevices are spreading by the hour.
The NRCS, USGS, the Groundwater Water District, county and city will all meet in august to determine what action they will take.