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RESOURCES
RESEARCH,
1999
Introduction
tains. The Basin is hydrologicallyclosedand as such,a quiescent seriesof interconnectedlakes occupiedthe basin floor
prior to the constructionof an artificial drainagesystemin the
late 1700s[Bribiesca,1960].Throughoutthe city, a networkof
surfacecanalscurrentlyconductsstorm runoff, alongwith domesticand industrialliquid waste,to the main drainagecanal
in the north of the city. A set of deep drainagetunnelshas
subsequentlybeen added to the northern drainage systemto
handle the increasingflow rates. The primary reasonfor the
increasingflow volumesin the drainagesystemhas been the
progressiveincreasein local groundwaterextractionrates,and
the introduction of additional water being brought into the
Basin throughpipelinesfrom distantreservoirsto handle the
increasingwater demand.
Groundwaterextractionfrom the regionalalluvial-pyroclastic aquifer beneaththe lacustrineplain startedin the last century and becameextensiveduring the 1930s[Hiriart and Marsal, 1969].The heavypumping,particularlyin the middle of the
city,causeddepressurization
and consolidationof the aquitard
[Carrillo, 1947] and as a result, extensiveland subsidencewas
documentedin downtownMexico City over severaldecades.
Indeed, the magnitudeof the subsidence
becamesoextremein
somelocations(>9 m) that severeproblemsaroserelated to
3327
3328
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
BASIN OF MEXICO
Chihuahua
SIERRA
DE/\\/
Veracruz
PACHUCA /
"'""'
f -/ '- -- ""
LIMITOF
Mexico
City
/
//.-'
J ,_ LACUSTRINE
PLAIN
/ Metropolitan
J ! Texcoco
?/ Mexico
City
t./ Plain
/!
"'...-, "
' STUDY /-....
SIERRA
DE LAS
CRUCES
"h
SITE/'-'- / ""
...../
\\\
-"J'
\ NEVADA
SIERRA
\ rN/ CHALO0
\ /
SIERRA
I
0
'"'
/-,,
BASIN
OHIOHINAUTZlN
I
20 km
Figure 1. Locationplan of studyarea showingrelative positionof the Basin of Mexico, the limit of the
surficiallacustrinesedimentsand Mexico City. [After Ortegaet al., 1993].
will be
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
3329
2.
Previous
exist elsewhere
Studies
in the world.
of Land
Subsidence
2.2.
Cruickshank[1985]providedfurther theoreticalinsightinto
the unique hydraulicbehaviorof the lacustrineaquitard.In
thiswork, Cruickshankillustratedthe complexinteractionbetween the pumpedaquifer and the compressibleaquitardduring the cyclicextractionassociated
with variabledaily demand
on the municipal aquifer system.In addition, Cruickshank
[1985]demonstratedthroughnumericalanalysisthat the physical parameterscontrollinggroundwaterflow in a highlycompressibleaquitardmight changesignificantlyduringconsolidation. This would consequentlyinduce a nonlinearity in the
governingflow equation.
Rudolph and Frind [1991] investigatedfurther the significanceof the nonlinear parametricbehavior of compressible
sedimentsduring consolidation.Both field investigationsand
numericalanalysiswere usedto studythe upper 20 m of the
aquitardin the TexcocoPlain (Figure 1). A one-dimensional
numericalmodel designedto simulateboth groundwaterflow
in the aquitard and land subsidence,
while incorporatingthe
nonlinearnatureof the hydraulicparameters,wascalibratedto
local hydraulicdata and historicalinformation. Through this
analysis,it was shownthat both the transienthydraulichead
and land subsidence
processesare influencedby progressive
variation of the physicalparametersin the aquitard during
consolidation.
3330
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
DETAILED
A'
_
''300 rn'
LIMIT
IMITOF
OI
LACUSTRINE
;USTRI
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
3.
in the Chalco
Basin
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
3331
A'
SOUTH
NORTH
2500
,,,%
SIERRA
CHICHINAUTZIN SANTA
CATARINA
WELL
FIELD
1
'-'
2100
<
19oo
>
' .........................
""
! l
" -----'
U31700
1500
2 km
Town of
Santa
mO
;o
VWP1
drilled
.100 m"
CH2
4P2'--,
Santa
Catarina
Drainage
Canal
mO
Nest
of
Piezometers
[]
Core Hole
PumpingWell
NP3
of the Sierra
Chi-
wasapproximately
5 m3/s[DDF, 1979].Fourteendeepwells
Wells
LEGEND
in the basaltic
vo
Multilevel
Monitoring
Well
m m m
Access Road
Main Road
pliedbetween1.4and1.75m3/sto thecity[Ortega
etal., 1993].
The total amount of groundwaterwithdrawal in the Chalco
aquiferreceives
a totalannualrecharge
of -6.5 m3/s[Huizar,
AquitardThickness
3322
DAHAN
ET AL.:
FLOW
-:;::
Potentialflow pahs
IN A FRACTURE
...,57-:-"
:..
::'
'-;...
'.-..,,,:,:
.,:,,::'.::-,
INTERSECTING
....,-v:.
:
......
CHALK
Scale
(cm)
UNSATURATED
During the first tracer test, pond 5 servedas the main water
sourcefor samplercells8, 9, 10, and 11. However, during the
secondtest the amount of taggedwater from pond 7 to these
cellsincreased(Figure 6). Thus it appearsthat ponds5 and 7
(a)
8O
?%
6O
4O
2O
'
'
48
'
72
'
96
120
The resultsobtainedfrom the tracer experimentswere reevaluatedwith the measuredwater fluxes.For that purpose,
fluxesfrom both endsof the flow path, at the donor pondson
land surfaceand at the receivingsamplercellsin the borehole,
were comparedand had to be reasonablysimilar.It shouldbe
noted,however,that whereasthe trajectorieswere established
80O
600
400
on the basis of the two tracer tests, the duration of which was
200
<10% of the total time of the experiment,fluxeswere compared over the entire durationof the experiment.Considering
the temporal variationsin flow trajectoriesobservedin these
two tracer tests,only the dominanttrajectories(bold lines in
Figure 6) connectingsourcepondsto samplercellswere analyzed. In the following,water fluxeswere comparedfor individualflow domainswithin the fractureplane. It shouldalsobe
noted that the time lag from the pondsto the samplercells,as
definedby the tracer breakthroughcurves,was of the order of
24
48
72
96
120
Ponds11 - 16 andsamplercells 16 - 21
$00
200
150
24
100
50
24
48
72
96
120
Time (h)
(Figure6). Thereforethecombined
flowrate,calculated
for all
Legend:
.
Combinedflow curvefor samplercells
sampler
cellsyieldedgoodfitswitha correlation
coefficient
R2
16-21.
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
Site Instrumentation
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
3333
de(tre)
=Cc
log
(tre
+dtrel
pgCclog(cre+dc
3334
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.'
LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
CH2
LACUSTRINE
g
SEDIM
***/
ee
-2
-5
SAND
;-7
LAY
-1
-12
GRANUAL.-'3
AQUIFER "
-1
VOID
(a)
RATIO
(b)
'12 0
(c)
(d)
5.
Results
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
(a)
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
(b)
NEST
NP1
3335
(c)
NEST
VWP1
NEST
NP2
Data from
Vibrating
Wire
j Sediment
Lacustrine
50
Piezometers
J Basalt
j Granular
Aquifer
lOO
Head in the
Head in the
,' Aquifer
150
-30
-20
-10
,' Aquifer
Head in the
'--0
-30
-20
- 10
-30
Aquifer
-20
-10
Hydraulic Head
3336
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.:
LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
NEST
NP1
NESTVWP1
NEST NP2
NEST NP3
z
-10
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
YEAR
flow conditions
will continue
to increase
5.3.
Evolution
of Land
Subsidence
documented
rina wells in 1984, the subsidence rate at NP2 and NP3 in-
centre of the Chalco Basin are associatedwith level surveys creasedsignificantlyrelative to sites NP1 and VWP1. This
conducted around the time of the installation
of the multilevel
accelerated
differential
settlement
has resulted
in the forma-
tion of a significanttopographicdepressionlocated approximately in the centre of the Basin (Figure 7). The elevation
gradient in the surface drainage canal network, which was
designedto maintaingroundwaterlevelsbelowgroundsurface,
has significantlydecreasedand in some areasreversed,such
that duringthe rainy seasona fairly large surfacewater body
recorded elevations of between 2237 and 2238 masl in the
now forms in the low lying areas [Ortegaet al., 1993]. This
vicinity of the FN1 site. This indicatesthat an averageland relativelyconcentricdepressionwill continueto expandand
subsidence
rate of 0.10 to 0.15 m/yr persistedin the centrepart deepenas groundwaterextractionand subsidencecontinues.
of the Basinprior to the installationof the SantaCatarinawell
The highlytransientand nonlinearnature of the subsidence
field. This land subsidenceis presumablydue to loweringof processin this lacustrinesequencemakeslong-termpredicaregional piezometric levels in the aquifer due to pumping tion of the total magnitudeand distributionof the land subsiaround the lateral boundariesof the clay plain. Additional dencein the ChalcoBasindifficult,althoughsomeinsightcan
elevation data were collected when the Santa Catarina wells
be derivedfrom numericalanalysisas discussed
below.
were drilled in the early 1980s,and on severalother occasions
up to 1991[SARH-CAI/M, 1984;CNA-GAI/M, 1991a,b; Ortega 5.4. Numerical Analysis
et al., 1993].
At the site of the NP2 piezometercluster,approximately
On the basisof the earlysurveydata, the surfaceelevationat midwayalongthe studytransect(Figure 3a), the most comeachof the newpiezometersites(NP1, VWP1, NP2, NP3) can plete set of subsurfaceinformation is concentrated.This inbe assumed to have been close to that recorded around the
cludesgeotechnicaldata from the nearby CH2 core hole, hy-
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.'
LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
3337
iour near the NP3 site, where the sedimentsare the thickest, to
BOUNDARY
OF
TyNE
VOLCAN O
_',
',',,,,
Basin.
_.__.81AIIC)N
XiCO)
,"'--'2
rn }
investigatevariousalternativepumpingscenariosdesignedto
minimize the magnitude of land subsidencein the Chalco
area.
dessication.
At depthsabove8 m the void ratio wasassumedto
be essentiallyinsensitiveto changesin effective stresswith
transient hydraulichead and the land subsidencedata mea- depth and thereforeconstantvaluesof K' and Ss' were specsuredat the NP2 site. On the basisof this coupledcalibration ified in this shallowregionfor all simulations.
procedureand sensitivityanalysis,a set of hydraulicparameAs discussed
earlier, hydraulicconductivityvaluesrepresenters would be determined
for the lacustrine sediments that
tative of the bulk porous medium are difficult to determine
could then be used to simulate conditions elsewhere in the
throughthe use of single-wellresponsetests.The vertical disChalco Basin and to facilitate predictive simulation.Finally, tribution of K' thereforewas determinedthroughthe calibrathe model was usedto simulatelong-termsubsidence
behav- tion procedurerather than by directly adoptingthe response
The modelingexerciseinvolvedthree main objectives.The
50
c=6
NEST
NP2
10
-
lOO
n K'o = 1.0x10'7m/s
o K'o = 5.0x10'7m/s
n K'o = 2.3x10-7m/s
A K'o = 5.0x 10'7 m/s
o K'o = 8.0x 10'7m/s
A K'o = 2.3x10-7m/s
rvl msure
tta
I
150
VOID
RATIO
(a)
15
10
1960
FIELD DATA
1980
FIELD DATA
I
2000
1960
1980
YEAR
YEAR
(b)
(c)
2000
NP3.
3338
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.:
LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
test results(Figure 4d). Equation(3) is usedto calculatethe field observationas discussedearlier. As a first step,transient
vertical distributionof K'. The relationshiprequiresa speci- land subsidence was calculated at the NP2 and NP3 sites for
fied initial value of hydraulicconductivity(K) near ground various values of K'. Several of these simulations are shown in
surface,the variation in void ratio with depth and the slopeof Figures8b and 8c. The best fit to the subsidencedata at the
NP2 site was achievedwith a K' value of 2.3 x 10-7 m/s,
the e-logK' plot (m).
A value of m = 3 was selected based on estimates made for
whereas
at the NP3 site,K' = 5.0 x 10-7 m/sprovidedthe
Thesevalueswere then usedto simulatethe verticalhydraulic headprofilesat eachsite. In order to investigatethe sensitivity of the Cc parameter, a seriesof simulationswere conductedwith Cc valuesrangingfrom 1 to 6. As can be seenin
Figure 9a, Cc = 3 providesthe bestfit to the hydraulichead
data at the NP2 site, which correlates with the value selected
3339
NEST NP2
NEST NP3
50
100
300
-30
-20
-10
RELATIVEHYDRAULICHEAD (m)
-40
-30
-20
-10
RELATIVEHYDRAULICHEAD (m)
(a)
(b)
Figure9. Sensitivity
ofsimulated
relative
hydraulic
headprofiles
asafunction
ofcompression
index
(Cc)at
(a) monitoring
location
NP2and(b)monitoring
location
NP3.Simulated
timeperiodfrom1960to 1991.
the differentscenarios.
Ortegaet al. [1997]showedthat the increasein leakageflux occurredwhen the Santa Catarina
porewater in the aquitardcontainselevatedconcentrations
of
totaldissolved
solids(TDS) thatin someareasmaythreaten remains
constant
(case1, Figure11),increases
in theleakage
thequalityofwaterpumped
fromtheregional
aquifer.Figure fluxwillcontinue
whichmayresultin theprogressive
release
of
11 showsthe transientnatureof the leakageflux at the NP3 high TDS pore water to the aquifer.On the other hand,a
site under the five cases considered above. A considerable significant
decrease
in thedrawdown
rate(cases
4 and5, Figure 11) will resultin a lowerfluxof highTDS waterinto the
aquifer.Whetheror nottheworstcaseleakageratewill sig0
nificantly
impairwaterqualityin the regionalaquiferis unknown.
2.0
1
co -lO
5
4
1.0-
-15
0.5-
-2o
1960
1980
2000
2020
1960
YEAR
1980
2000
2020
YEAR
Figure11. Predicted
transientevolution
of the leakageflux
dencein the middleof the ChalcoBasinnearmonitoring enteringthe aquifer in the middle of the Chalco Basinnear
locationNP3 to the year 2010 if the rate of drawdownin the monitoring
locfitionNP3 to theyear2010if the rateof drawproduction
aquiferisreduced
by,0% (case1), 25%(case2), downin theproduction
aquiferis reduced
by,0% (Case1),
50%(case3), 75%(case4), and100%(case5).
25%(Case2), 50%(Case3), 75%(Case4), 100%(Case5).
3340
6.
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
in the Chalco
Basin reveal
severeoverexploitationof the regionalaquifer system,resulting in a progressiveloweringof piezometriclevelsin the regional aquifer and an accelerateddecline in land surface.
Aquifer depressurization
andsubsidence
beganthroughoutthe
ChalcoBasinprior to the constructionof SantaCatarinawell
field in the middle of the plain. This initial subsidencewas
likely due to pumpingalongthe boundariesof the Basin,particularlyin the rechargeareasin the southernpart of the Basin.
Sincepumpingcommencedfrom the SantaCatarinawells,the
regionalpiezometricsurfacein the aquiferhasbeendropping
at a rate of approximately1.5 m/yr. The currentrate of land
subsidence
in the centralpart of the clayplain is in the order
of 0.4 m/yr, the highestwithin the entire Basinof Mexico.As
this trend continues,a progressively
larger part of the Chalco
Basinwill becomeflooded,inundatingboth rural and urban
land.
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
Measurementof verticalprofilesof hydraulichead at different locationswithin the lacustrineaquitardhas providedevidencethat the groundwaterflow systemin the aquitardis still
in a transientstate throughoutmost of the Chalco Basin. In
areas where the aquitard is greater than 100 m thick, the
influence of pumping from the regional aquifer is not yet
evidentin the piezometriclevelsnear groundsurface.Where References
the aquitardis lessthan 100m thick,downwardflowconditions Alberro, J., Teoria de formacionde grietasdebidoa fuerzasde infiltracion,report, Univ. Nac. Auton. de Mex., Inst. de Ing., Mexico,
prevailthroughoutthe entire thicknessof the lacustrinesediD. F., 1988.
ments.As piezometriclevelscontinueto declinein the aquifer,
Beuhumea,M. L., andA. C. Vazquez,Estudiosgeofisicos
del Valle de
hydraulicgradientsin the aquitardwill continueto increase,
Mexico,60 pp., ComisionFed. de Electr., Mexico City, 1988.
causingpersistenceof transientgroundwaterflow conditions. Bradbury,K. R., and M. A. Muldoon, Hydraulic conductivitydeterminationsin unlithifiedglacialand fluvial materials,in Groundwater
Throughthe useof geotechnicallaboratorytestingand sinand VadoseZone Monitoring,vol. 1053,editedby D. M. Nielsenand
gle-wellresponsetests,the spatialvariabilityof the hydraulic
parameterscontrollinggroundwaterflow and land subsidence A. I. Johnson,pp. 138-151, Am. Soc. of Testing and Materials,
Philadelphia,Pa., 1990.
wasinvestigated.
Althoughsignificant
variabilitywasobserved Bribiesca,C. L., Hidrologia historicadel Valle de Mexico, Rev. Ing.
in theseparameters,bothvoid ratio (e) andhydraulicconducHidraul.Mex.,X/V(3), 1960.
tivity (K') tendedto decreasewith depth.A one-dimensional Carrillo, N., 1947.Influenceof artesianwellsin the sinkingof Mexico
City.in VolumenNaborCarrillo,ComisionImpulsoray Coordinadora
numericalmodel was used to simulatetransientgroundwater
dela Investigacion
Cientifica,Anuario47, pp. 7-14, Sec.de Hacienda
flow and land subsidenceat variouslocationswithin the clay
y Credito Publico,Mexico City, 1969.
plain. The modelwas calibratedto observedhydraulichead ComisionNacionaldel Agua, Gerenciade Aguasdel Valle de Mexico
(CNA-GAVM), Reportede nivelespiezometricos
de lospozosde la
and subsidencedata using values of hydraulic parameters
Sub-Cuencade Chalco,reporteinterno,Mexico,D. F., 1991a.
based on field observations.The model closelyreproduced
ComisionNacionaldel Agua, Gerenciade Agua del Valle de Mexico
both the transienthead profiles and the recordeddecline in
(CNA-GAVM), Boletinde Mecanicade Suelos,vol. 10. 281 pp.,
land surfaceelevation.The modelingresultsillustratethe utilMexico, D. F., 1991b.
Van NostrandReinhold,NewYork, 1978.
ity of using the 1-D modeling approachto investigatesite Craig,R. F., SoilMechanics,
specificconditionswithin the aquitardwithout the need for Cruickshank, V. C., Efectos de caracteristicasvariables del material
confinantesobreel comportamientode acuiferossemiconfinados,
complexthree-dimensionalrepresentation.This approachcan
be used elsewhere
within
or at other
locationswhere pumping-inducedsubsidence
occurs.
Cuevas,J. A., Foundationconditionsin Mexico City,Proc.Inter. Conf.
Soil Mech., 3, 1936.
On the basisof the calibration and sensitivityanalysis,key
physicalparametersrepresentative
of the large-scalehydraulic Departamentode Distrito Federal (DDF), Memoriasde los detalles
behavior of the lacustrine sediments were determined
includ-
constructivos
y operativosdel Ramal Tulyehualco,reporteinterno,
M6xico, D. F., 1979.
ORTEGA-GUERRERO
ET AL.: LONG-TERM
LAND
SUBSIDENCE
3341
subsidence
of Venice, 1, Theory,WaterResour.Res.,9(3), 721-733,
subsidence
in multiaquifersystems,
WaterResour.Res.,8(5), 1551-
1973.
1561, 1982.
Gayol, R., Breves apuntesrelativos alas obras de saneamientoy Ortega, G. A., Origin and migration of pore water and salinityin the
desaguede la Capital de la Republicay de lasque del mismogenero
consolidating
Chalcoaquitard,near MexicoCity, Ph.D. thesis,Univ.
of Waterloo, Ont., Canada, 1993.
necesitacon urgencia,Rev. Mex. Ing. Arquit., VIII, 1929.
Hansen, R., Lake depositsfrom Chalco Basin sedimentdescription Ortega,G. A., J. A. Cherry,and D. L. Rudolph,Large-scaleaquitard
and firstresultsfrom core a/b (abstract),Primer Simposiosobreel
consolidationnear Mexico City, Ground Water,31(5), 708-718,
Cuaternario en M6xico, M6xico, D. F., 1989.
1993.