City Council approved $21,675 for a geophysical study along sections of planned water line improvements at its June 18 meeting.

Raba Kistner Consultants submitted the proposal, which consists of an exploration of subsurface conditions near water lines along Farley Trail as well as Riley Road and Vale Street. The firm will drill holes below the surface in suspect areas in search of voids.

"There is a documented cave in the vicinity, and with trenching occurring, we have concerns," RKC Vice President Gabriel Ornelas said. "One thing we want to do is provide due diligence in our work. There is a risk of excavating and finding a big cave."

Ornelas said he has worked on projects that have discovered caves, something that can stall a project or cancel it outright.

RKC will analyze 1,000 linear feet of Riley Road north of its intersection with Pickwick Lane, and 800 linear feet each of Farley Trail and Vale Street north of their intersection with Pickwick Lane.

The project is expected to last two days and must be complete before work on those sections of water lines is started.