A new study found that several of the country’s major cities are sinking, including Phoenix, Las Vegas and Denver in the Mountain West region.
Researchers used radar to measure how deep the issue goes.
Parts of Phoenix are sinking by about 4 millimeters per year. That small amount adds up year after year and poses a risk to buildings, bridges and roads. Researchers found that the main reason for the issues is the extraction of groundwater.
“You know in the teens up to 20 feet of subsidence since you know we started pumping water out is what Arizona experienced," said Joseph Cook with the Arizona Geological Survey.
Arizona has been dealing with land subsidence for decades due to the rapid use of groundwater.
Cook says the practice can cause cracks in the ground, and damage infrastructure, “subsidence by itself can cause areas that weren't prone to flooding to be prone to flooding, or, you know, redirect floodwaters into areas that didn't have that issue before."
The study was published in the journal Nature Cities.
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