Land subsidence and ground fracturing affecting major cities of central Mexico and related groundwater management

Dora Carreón-Freyre, Mariano Cerca, Gil H. Ochoa González, Ignacio Ortiz-Villaseñor, Javier Gámez-González, Raúl Gutiérrez-Calderón

In the proceedings of: GEO2011: 64th Canadian Geotechnical Conference, 14th Pan-American Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 5th Pan-American Conference on Teaching and Learning of Geotechnical Engineering

Session: Climate Change & GeoHazards

ABSTRACT: The fast development of the cities located in Central Mexico in the last three decades has caused an increase in groundwater demand leading to a dramatic decline of the piezometric levels, from a few meters to below 120 m depth, in the major urban areas. The consolidation of sediments related to heavy groundwater pumping is one of the main factors that cause subsidence and ground fracturing in these rapidly increasing population areas. In most of these urban zones ground fracturing is closely related to regional geological faulting that condition the propagation of fracturing form depth to surface. Our results show that the distribution of critical hydraulic gradients is directly related with geological discontinuities and condition the generation of fractures that causes the rupture of pumping wells, housing and other urban infrastructure. Detailed monitoring of subsidence and ground water levels are necessary to promote management plans following an inter-institutional approach, leading to the establishment of the corresponding public policies agreed upon with local decision makers on land and water uses.

RÉSUMÉ: Le rapide développement des grandes villes localisées dans la partie central du Mexique pendant les dernières trente ne et par conséquence le rabattement critique des niveaux piézométriques, de quelques mètres à plus de 120 m de profondeur, dans les plus grandes zones urbanisées. La consolidation des sédiments associée immodéré pompage des eaux souterraines est une des causes principales de la subsidence et fracturation du sous-sol dans les villes dont leur population continue à augmenter. Dans la plupart de zones la fracturation du sous-sol est lie directement aux failles géologiques régionales qui déterminent la propagation des fractures de profondeur vers la surface. Nos résultats montrent que la distribution des gradients hydrauliques critiques est directement liée aux discontinuités géologiques et conditionne la génération des fractures qui occasionne la rupture dLe monitorage de la subsidence et sont nécessaires pour promouvoir des plans de gestion interinstitutionnels devant s politiques agrées par les responsables locaux

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Cite this article:
Dora Carreón-Freyre; Mariano Cerca; Gil H. Ochoa González; Ignacio Ortiz-Villaseñor; Javier Gámez-González; Raúl Gutiérrez-Calderón (2011) Land subsidence and ground fracturing affecting major cities of central Mexico and related groundwater management in GEO2011. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{GEO11Paper985,author = Dora Carreón-Freyre; Mariano Cerca; Gil H. Ochoa González; Ignacio Ortiz-Villaseñor; Javier Gámez-González; Raúl Gutiérrez-Calderón ,title = Land subsidence and ground fracturing affecting major cities of central Mexico and related groundwater management,year = 2011}