Cistern well - do I need to hire an engineer?

[Dustin Blackmon]

I am looking at a property that has a 50 foot deep Cistern.  A cistern is not a well that reaches ground water . It is a hole dug to catch rain water.   I want to purchase the property as it is in a desirable area for short term rentals but not sure how to seal off this Cistern well.   Anyone have experience in this situation?  

[Matt Devincenzo]

Similar cisterns I've seen are much larger 'tanks' below ground, is this similar? I'd demo similar to a pool demo, bust up the sides and bottom, collapse the debris in along with some clean granular fill and then cover with additional soil as needed. This assumes it isn't somewhere you want to later build or are concerned with settlement etc. Whether your jurisdiction requires a demo permit for a 'pool' or not is likely where I'd start with the investigation. Also ask if they consider importing fill of that depth/volume to be 'grading' which could require a separate permit and a geotechnical engineer oversee the backfill to ensure that it is properly compacted. Use that info and contact to further discuss the specifics of this cistern and what permitting it may or may not need.