blog #25
Mexico City is Sinking
by: FUSION
February 29th, 2016
[NOTE: i attempted to upload a screenshot of the video, but blogger is not allowing me to do so]
Following a system established by the Spaniards hundreds of years ago, the people of Mexico acquire the majority of their drinking water from underground aquifers, a total of 70%. The issue with this is that it is a "raised city"; built above the many lakes within a valley and lacking true foundation. As a result, as the people continue to consume water from below, their buildings sink lower and lower. As a result of these inefficiencies, Mexico City boasts one of the most expensive water distribution systems in the world. The land beneath Mexico City has sunk more than 32 feet within the last 60 years, with the most worrisome thing about this being the fact that once land has subsided it cannot again be raised. And not all the land is sinking evenly, that which is built on sediment will stand tall, but all other structures will continue to shift downward. Collecting rainfall--a viable solution since the city already receives so much rain--while not remedying the sinking that has already occurred, could deplete dependence on the aquifers.
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