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VIDALIA, La. — Any repair work to a massive sinkhole in Vidalia that has been developing for three months will have to wait a while longer for the Mississippi River level to fall, though contractors have tested the waters.

The hole has been growing in the area of Concordia Avenue and Elm Street since early April and now takes up most of the street where Concordia Avenue intersects with Elm Street, risking damage to private homes and property near it.

A special-called meeting of the Town of Vidalia to amend the town’s operating budget was held on Thursday afternoon, but there was a slight delay while Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft waited for a quorum of Aldermen to arrive. It was during that delay that Craft gave an update on the town’s sinkhole issue.

“We did have a contractor start excavating the material, but the water table is still too high and they had to pull out,” Craft said. “You can’t go into it when the water table is so high. Anything you do in it, any material you bring in is going to fill up with water and it’s not going to be successful. This is coming from the engineers and the contractors. You can’t do work in water.”

The water table that Craft was referring is in part based on the level of the Mississippi River at Vidalia and Natchez.

While below the flood stage of 48 feet, the river creates groundwater and causes issues for any work that needs to be done below surface level. Craft said the river may need to be around 40 feet high for any work to be done on the sinkhole, due to its depth.

The Mississippi River level at Natchez is resting at a little more than 47 feet high as of Thursday and is expected to start receding around June 30 to about 42.2 feet around July 7, according to the National Water Prediction Service forecast.

“We’re looking for something 40 feet and lower,” Craft said, while offering an apology to residents who are affected by the issue. “It’s something I don’t like and I know its holding up and messing up a lot of people, but we’re keeping an eye on it and as quickly as we can get in there and do this work we certainly want to do it.”