Mexico City faces sinking land and water scarcity: What solutions can salvage the situation?

Protesters from the political group Antorcha Campesina gather in Mexico City on April 3, 2024, to oppose the government's response to water shortages across various regions of Mexico. [Image Credit: Alfredo Estrella/AFP]

 

In Mexico City's historic Zocalo district, Dario Solano-Rojas gestures towards signs of an ongoing subterranean crisis. The streets of the central plaza are uneven, with twisting and sloping walkways. Numerous building foundations have visibly sunk, leading to cracks in the surrounding pavement. Even iconic structures like The Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Metropolitan Cathedral, constructed from stones of the Aztec temple once located there, appear to be gradually succumbing to the earth.

Inside the cathedral, Solano-Rojas, a professor of geological engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, points out a glass-encased box connected to the ceiling by a taut wire. Within, a heavily-weighted point charts the cathedral's uneven shifting over centuries, with a section dropping by approximately 2.5 meters (8.2 feet).

Mexico City is sinking, along with its historic monuments. Parts of the city's nearly 9 million residents are experiencing annual descents of up to 40cm (15 inches), driven by a deepening water crisis with roots tracing back 500 years. This crisis manifests today in remarkable ironies.

Xochimilco's canals, once a precolonial lake sustaining the city, are now a renowned attraction with lush lagoons and vibrant boats. However, neighboring areas now face water shortages. To the north lies Iztapalapa, notorious for its poverty and danger, where water supply inconsistencies have persisted for years, sometimes halting entirely for days or weeks.

Adjacent to Iztapalapa is Coyoacan, once home to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, now facing unexpected water shortages. At the heart of the city's sinking crisis lies its dependence on underground water. As the aquifer depletes and the ground settles above it, Mexico City sinks further.

"The solution is clear: cease extracting water from underground," says Solano-Rojas. "But that's unlikely to happen."

The situation in Mexico City underscores how both the affluent and the impoverished are unprepared for water scarcity. Money alone cannot solve this escalating crisis.

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