Live Oak Sinkhole 2025-08-25 | WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

Live Oak, FL — Sinkhole on U.S. 90 (Aug. 25, 2025)

A sinkhole opened in the eastbound lane of U.S. 90 in Live Oak, Suwannee County, Florida on August 25, 2025. The Live Oak Police Department posted a video and warned drivers to avoid the area while road crews and FDOT responded. Officials reported the roadway was repaired and reopened later that evening.

What happened

At approximately 4:30 PM on Aug. 25, 2025, a sinkhole formed on U.S. 90 between Dowling Avenue and Union Avenue in Live Oak. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) crews closed the eastbound lane and made repairs; FDOT reported the road was reopened after crews completed emergency repairs.

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⚠️ Safety Alert⚠️
Eastbound U.S. 90 near Dowling Avenue will be temporarily closed due to a sink hole. Please use caution and avoid this route if possible. Road Department and construction crews have been notified.
— Live Oak Police Department (video)

Environmental notice

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) received an initial Public Notice of Pollution for the incident on 08/26/2025. The FDEP notice lists the incident as the “City of Live Oak Sinkhole” with coordinates Lat: 30.296, Long: -82.983 and identifies Suwannee County as the impacted county. The notification indicates the Suwannee River Water Management District is the reporting agency; Sara Ferson (Environmental Permitting Office Chief) is listed as the on-site contact.

FDEP incident location: View map (FDEP)

Photos and maps

WWALS published photographs and an on-site map of the sinkhole. Representative images include:

WWALS also provides a map used in its Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT) mapping layer:

Map: Live Oak Sinkhole (SRWT)

Possible causes

Local and regional sinkhole incidents are often linked to karst geology beneath the surface, chronic groundwater overpumping and extreme rainfall events that can erode or collapse underground cavities. WWALS noted that overpumping and increasingly heavy rains contribute to cavity formation and washouts that expose these collapses.

Local reporting and follow-up

WCJB reported on Aug. 25–26 that FDOT crews closed and then reopened the roadway after emergency repairs: Sinkhole opens on US 90 in Suwannee County; highway reopens (WCJB).

If you observed the incident or have environmental concerns, contact the Suwannee River Water Management District or FDEP using the contacts provided in the FDEP notice. WWALS (Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®) also posted this report; to support watershed work, consider becoming a WWALS member: wwals.net/donations/.

Source: WWALS — Live Oak Sinkhole 2025-08-25

Report compiled by John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER® (WWALS).