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Land subsidence in the Coachella Valley a big concern

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 28, 2007 at 11:07 am

From the Desert Sun:

Land is sinking in parts of the Coachella Valley where groundwater is being pumped out faster than it’s being replaced. If the excessive draw-down continues, infrastructure - including sewers, pipes and roads - could suffer significant damage, potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars. That’s according to a recently released study by the Coachella Valley Water District and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Although Indio, the valley’s largest city, is being spared the brunt of this subsidence, it’s surrounded by areas in Bermuda Dunes, La Quinta and Coachella that have dropped by as much as a foot in some places. The water district provides drinking water to some Indio residences and delivers irrigation water to golf courses within the city.

Most of Indio, however, is serviced by the Indio Water Authority. The authority commissioned its own survey, with the results due on Jan. 14, said Jim Smith, Indio’s public works director. Water district and geological survey’s report released Dec. 17 studied a period between 1996 and 2005, and showed significant changes, or sinking of the land, in at least four areas: Indian Wells, La Quinta, Palm Desert and the Coachella-Indio area. “We have a problem,” said Steve Robbins, the district’s general manager-chief engineer. “It is a valley-wide problem we all have to deal with.”

To read the rest of this article from the Desert Sun, click here.

December 28, 2007 · Filed Under Groundwater

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