Water crisis as Mexico City sinks faster than Venice

[Nihil]

From the Independent:

<snip>

Mexico City's underlying aquifer is now collapsing at a staggering
rate beneath the streets. While Venice slips into the Adriatic at
a fraction of an inch each year, Mexico City is lurching downwards
by as much as a foot a year in some areas. Over the past century,
it has dropped 30ft.

<snip>

Chugging the equivalent of one Olympic-sized swimming pool full of
water every minute, the city's strained aquifers are dragging much
of the capital's rich heritage down with them, while the 20 million
residents face problems that include water-borne diseases, power
outages and the threat of riots.

<snip>

In the leafy park surrounding the imposing Monument to the Revolution,
there is an old cast-iron well casing that has continued to hold as
the city around it has sunk. Once flush with street level, the plain
black pillar now stands 26ft high, serving as an unusual photograph
stop for slack-jawed tourists.

<snip>

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=516630

(Sounds like the American West is not the only place with imminent
water supply problems ...)