South (East Valley) sites plagued by growing fissures (AZ)

[phantom power]

News flash: pumping all the goddamned water out of the ground really can be a bad thing...

A modern-day land rush in the south East Valley has led some people to unknowingly buy homes on shaky ground.

People moving here from other states and buying land and homes near Queen Creek and in the San Tan area at a record pace haven’t heard the terms "land subsidence" and "earth fissures."

They don’t know what long-time residents, geologists and hydrologists have known for at least four decades: Land near the San Tan Mountains can be like a tensed hinge, ready to spring open along fissures because nearby basin land has been slowly sinking as groundwater is pumped out of underground aquifers.

Private property rights restrict the state from blanketing areas of known fissures with a "no development" rule. Real estate agents and land brokers are required to disclose geologic hazards in writing, but that doesn’t always happen. And sometimes signs and warnings posted by concerned parties go unnoticed.



http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=46544

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. As the aquifers collapse

would that make them unable to absorb any more water and replenish themselves? Would that cause catastrophic desertification?

[phantom power]

2. In this particular locale...

I don't think it would affect the surface biology. It's already desert, and I believe that the aquifers aren't available to the native ecology. Somebody who knows more about it might make a liar of me.

I can imagine that collapsing might lower the aquifer volume. In fact, if it isn't, I don't see how it could collapse. I don't know what percentage of volume loss that represents.

[hatrack]

3. This has been going on out there for decades

In the 1960s and 1970s, as cities rapidly pumped down aquifers (this was back in the pre-CAP era) it wasn't uncommon for streets and roads to suddenly crack and slump an inch or three. Not good for cars or drivers' tempers, as you can imagine.