In the past 100 years, Mexico City has sunk more than 30 feet. The original city was built on the site of a former lake—the Aztecs built the city on a series of aquatic platforms, but when the Spanish conquered the city, they drained the lake, causing it to sink. As the city population ballooned and the demand for water increased in the 20th century, the government began pumping much of the city's supply out of the underground aquifer that once fed the lake, causing the city to sink further. No practical plan has been made for the future to provide the 22 million inhabitants of Mexico City with the water they need without destroying the city.

墨西哥城，墨西哥

在過去100年，墨西哥城已經下沉了30多英尺。原來的城市是建在以前湖的原址上-阿茲特克人將城市建在許多水生平臺上，但當西班牙人征服該城時，他們就將湖水排干，致使城市下沉。隨著20世紀城市人口膨脹及對水的需求增加，政府開始從為湖泊注水的地下含水層中大量抽水以供應城市所需，導致城市進一步下沉。將來如何在不破壞城市的前提下為墨西哥城的2千2百萬居民提供用水，還沒有制定出任何切實可行的計劃。