For the third time this summer, a sinkhole has developed in the Coplay Creek, Hokendauqua, the second on the privately owned Tate Meadows.

Whitehall Township Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. last week said that the property owners have been notified, adding it is their responsibility to take measures to have the sinkhole filled and the problem corrected.

The sinkhole is close to the township-owned Mickley-Prydun Farm and the Hokendauqua Park & Playground.

“The creek is dry,” Hozza said of the water loss in the area of the sinkhole.

The initial sinkhole measured 7 feet in depth and was discovered in the creek bed at Tate Meadows, located behind the township public works building. The water at the time came from a void under the creek, spilling into an open field. The void was filled and overflowed back into the creek and continued downstream.

A second sinkhole on the Coplay Creek, near Lehigh Street, has been fixed by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. No further problems have occurred there, according to Hozza.

Coplay Creek runs into Whitehall Township from North Whitehall Township and across public and private properties in the township, before spilling into the Lehigh River off Lehigh Street in Darktown.

Coplay Creek usually has a flow of 6 to 12 inches.