Mexico City, Parched And Sinking, Faces A Water Crisis

Mexico City was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital famed for its canals and waterways. But while its former inhabitants lived in controlled harmony with water and their environment, those who live there currently most certainly do not – 500 years later, residents of the most populous city in Latin America are now living out the consequences of this neglect.

The city is facing two primary threats. The first is that due to the overuse of ground water by the megacity's exploding population, parts are sinking by up to nine inches (23cm) a year. The unique interplay between the volcanic and clay-based soils the city is built atop makes this subsidence uneven, resulting in a chaotic and misshapen surface. This has destroyed once straight boulevards and threatens many major construction projects within the city.

More critical to the city's future, the groundwater itself is running dry. Many poorer areas of the city can no longer rely on intermittent and highly polluted tap water. Instead, water trucks called 'pipas' deliver water to parched suburbs, at prices the residents can barely afford. As wells go dry, city administrators fear that global warming could exacerbate the situation and dry up areas of the city's catchment. Such a situation would be catastrophic for the entire city.

Michael Kimmelman's reportage on this issue takes the reader on a stop-by-stop tour of the city's problem areas. From the sunken and cracked roads to the thirsty slums lining the city, he tells the story a city outliving its means, and the people at the edges paying the price. He contrasts the experiences of the rich and the poor and highlights the imminent disaster that looms literally under their feet.

This article is particularly poignant as Mexico City is not a unique case. Many other cities around the world are facing similar problems, originally due to overpopulation, mismanagement and corruption, but now made worse by climate change.