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You can't fix a depleted aquifer on human timescales. The ground settles and loses the ability to hold water.

• toomuchtodo 2y ago
  Even better, thanks for the context.
  • kibwen 2y ago
    For an even more urgent example of this in action right now, see how Mexico City is currently sinking at an incredible rate: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/06/04/mexico-city-sinking-water-crisis/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/06/0... "Some areas in Mexico City are slipping as fast as 20 inches a year in recent decades, according to researchers. Overall, the clay layers under the soil have compressed by 17 percent in the last century. A culprit for the uneven sinking in Mexico City, researchers say, is pumping water from underground. The water extraction enables the porous soil to compact and depress. Because more than half of the city’s water supply comes from underground aquifers, its leaders have struggled to tackle the problem. Most of this sinking, the researchers say, is irreversible because the Earth is still compacting and responding to the ways water was drained a long time ago. Cabral-Cano and his colleagues project the land is going to sink another 100 feet over the next 150 years."
• cityofdelusion 2y ago
  Depends strongly on the geology. Clay will compress greatly, but bedrock/limestone will not at all. Most aquifers consist of a diverse range of geologic materials in varying thicknesses with different ingress types that will vary in capability to recharge.