Journal of Hydrology, 112 (1989) 171-190 171

Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam - - Printed in The Netherlands

[2]

THE G R O U N D W A T E R R E G I M E OF THE V A L L E Y OF M E X I C O
FROM HISTORIC E V I D E N C E A N D F I E L D O B S E R V A T I O N S

JAIME D U R A Z O and R.N. F A R V O L D E N

Institute of Geophysics, National University of Mexico, 04810 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)
Waterloo Centre for Groundwater Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3GI
(Canada)
(Received November 21, 1988; accepted after revision December 18, 1988)

ABSTRACT

Durazo, J. and Varvolden R.N., 1989. The groundwater regime of the Valley of Mexico from historic
evidence and field observations. J. Hydrol., 112:./1-190.

Groundwater is a matter of major importance in the Valley of Mexico because some 20 million
people depend on it for most of their water supply. In Mexico, historicalaccounts, docmnents and
native legends provide additional information of past conditions which relatesto hydrogeological
conditions. In any analysis of groundwater resources it is important to know the original
conditions. The Valley of Mexico is a graben structure, closed hydrologically and covered by a
series of lakes at the time of the Conquest. Groundwater recharge occurs in the mountains of
volcanic rocks that surround the Valley to form the Basin of Mexico. Where the rocks are visibly
permeable, the water-tableisdeep, for the most part,and runoff is low. Thick lacustrineclays cover
the Valley floor and artesian conditions once prevailed. Large springs of potable water were
numerous at the edge of the Valley, and where permeable aquifers pinch-out. Thermal mineral
springs occur along lineaments thought to be fractures in the rocks below the alluvial fill,.The
entire Valley floor and the lowest slopes of the mountains were zones of groundwater discharge.
All water discharge from the Valley was by evaporation and transpiration,and salts accumulated
in the lake-water and il,the clays. The main lakes were nonpotable and the Aztecs and later the
Spanish colonials depended on groundwater from the springs. Salt production from brines was an
important industry in the Aztec society as it is today. The ahuehuete tree, (Taxodium mucronatum),
which commonly lives to be many hundreds of years old, is a phreatophyte and an indicator of fresh
groundwater discharge in the Valley. It used to be much more abundant. Its occurence where
earthquake damage is worst suggests upward migration of fresh groundwater through fractures in
the clay that have been opened by seismic response. The water table and the capillary fringe are
near ground surface over a wide zone of lowlands around the edge of the ancient lakes. A small
amount of rain produces overland flow almost immediately and flooding has always been a problem
to societies that occupy the Valley. Except for one site known to us, groundwater g~'~ents have
been reversed everywhere in the Valley by pumping of the aquifers, which began in i ~ 7 and
became intense beginning in the 1930s, so that the direction of flow is downward, which allows, for
the first time, contaminants from the surface to migrate downward to the aquifers.
Heavy pumping has also caused drainage and consolidation of the lacustrine clays, and conse-
quently land subsidence of up to 8 m in the central part of the city. A simple water.balance indicates
that groundwater discharge to the Valley floorisabout 43 m 3 s- 1 which islessthan isbeing pumped
for municipal supply. Some of the deficiency is made up from compaction of the clays, a non-
renewable source.

0022-1694/89/$03.50 © 1989 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

172

INTRODUCTION

The Valley of Mexico (the Valley) refers to the lower part of the closed Basin
of Mexico. The Valley floor has an elevation of about 2236 m above sea level
(asl) and the lowest part is still occupied by what remains of Lake Texcoco. The
drainage divides in the mountains that surround the Valley are frequently
more than 3000 m asl, and the lowest pass across the divide is about 2260 m asl.
A large, closed basin at such a high elevation is almost unique but other
features are also unusual. Man has occupied this basin for some 15,000 years
and now, Mexico City, with a population of some 18 million covers much of the
lowest parts of the Valley, mostly on the extensive lacustrine plain. Several
million more people live in other communities in the Basin and surrounding
slopes. About 42% of the industrial capacity of the Mexican nation is con-
centrated in the Basin.
Among the many problems created by this set of circumstances is the supply
of water for the municipal system and for industrial purposes. Most of the
streams that drain to the Valley from the mountain slopes are short and
intermittent and only a few of them are used for water supply. The ~ame
situation applied to the streams beyond the drainage divides and where these
converge downstream to form large streams with adequate flow for a major
water supply they are far away from the city and far below the elevation of the
divides. For these reasons surface water is a very costly source for municipal
supply for Mexico City and groundwater has been extensively exploited for
that purpose.
The sediments that cover the floor of the Valley include thick, extensive
layers of compressible lacus~rine clays with a high water content, so
foundation design requires great care. Heavy buildings sink into the clay
unless special precautions are taken. Severe earthquake damage has been
caused by the unusual response of the sediments to distant seismic events. The
lacustrine clays are underlain by very productive aquifers that supply most of
the water used in the municipal system. Lowering of the piezometric levels by
heavy pumping of municipal wells has been the cause of consolidation of the
lacustrine clay aquitards and, consequently, of land subsidence.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the general hydrogeologic conditions
within the Valley of Mexico and to use historic records and other data
including field observations to interpret the main features of the groundwater
flow system and the hydrogeologic regime. It is evident from our citations that
many previous publications deal with the hydrogeologic environment and
problems of the Valley, but none of these used hydrogeology to explain the
phenomena as manifestations of groundwater flow regime. The list of
references discloses the variety of sources used for this study. Some are fi~om
documents attributed to native people of Precolombian times. Others are from
Spanish authors who lived in Mexico immediately after the conquest and
described conditions of life and society before the conquest and during the
early years of colonization. Few of these documents were intended primarily to
convey information of groundwater conditions, but references to springs,
 173

nonpotable water, stream base-flow, floods and like topics offer indirect infor-
mation of the groundwater regime.
During the Colonial period considerable study on geology, geography,
streamflow, natural vegetation and other topics directly or indirectly related
to groundwater was done and recorded. Since independence was achieved in
the early 19th century scholarly studies and reports of engineering works have
frequently made reference to phenomena and conditions that have obvious
hydrogeologic implications. In particular, general information on the main
aquifers became known after the first "deep" wells (over 50m were drilled in
1847, and shortly after, the geology of the Basin of Mexico was described from
field studies appropriate for the time.
With this information as background and with a strong working hypothesis
of groundwater occurrence, field observations in the Basin reveal many man-
ifestations of groundwater conditions that are useful for the interpretations
made in this study. There is no record of previous attempts to analyse this sort
of data for the Basin of Mexico.
Not until 1936 were wells used systematically for municipal supply. The
groundwater regime has been altered considerably since then, and only by use
of historic data and indirect observations of the sort mentioned above is it
possible now to describe the original conditions in such a way that they can be
of any use in the interpretation of hydrometric and piezometric data and in
modelling studies. Also, it is our view that an understanding of the ground-
water regime can be a useful tool in interpreting many of the common and some
of the unusual phenomena observed in the entire Basin of Mexico, such as
water quality and the pattern of development.
This paper is based in part on research done for a report by the Institute of
Geophysics (IGF) of the National University of Mexico (UNAM) and the
Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Mexico (SARH-CAVM, 1988).
The work is also part of a joint project between IGF and the Waterloo Centre
for Groundwater Research of thc University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada,
under the auspices of the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa.

PHYSICAL SETTING

The Basin of Mexico (Fig. 1) is a graben structure that is closed hydrologic-

ally by mountains of the Mexican Trans-Volcanic Belt (Demant, 1978). It has
a total area of 7740 km 2 of which 1507 km 2 is the central lacustrine plain at an
elevation of 2236-2250 In asl. This study does not include the subbasin of Apan
which forms the northeast corner of the Basin of Mexico.
Elevations in the mountains are commonly above 3000 m in the Sierra de las
Cruces to the west. In the east the volcanoes Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl rise
to over 5000m and support permanent glacial ice. These morphological
features and the regional setting at the highest part of the Mexican Central
Highlands led to a comparison of the Basin to a "pot on a tal~le" (McDowell,
1984) (Fig. 2). Mooser (1963) is an excellent reference on the geology and
geologic history of the Basin of Mexico. Except along the north side of the
174
I
99 ° i1'45"

l i&a, tI.A ~

0! I0
I
20
I
BASIN
km
OF

APAN
J
J

.~iii:::i!~ ( .SRA.'I~ GUAO~LUPE

~ii!iiiiii~ ELEVATION
I - 7 2240-2250
2250-2500
2500-2750
_19°24 ' I0" CITY 2750-300o
• 3000

S R ~ OEL CH ICH INAUTZ

Fig. 1. Physiography of the Basin of Mexico. From SRH CHCVM, 1966.

Basin, the mountains are high and rugged. Most of the stream3 draining to the
central basin are short and intermittent, because the catchment areas are
relatively small and the rainfall is seasonal. The Cuautitlan River drains the
northwest part of the Basin and accounted (before development) for over half

>,.0
ttl¢=)
0 ,.J-- N
U _IX
:D >~= U
6000 r a. <
4000~- <u w
>

O"

PLANO FISICO DE LA NUEVA-ESPANA

Fig. 2. Topographic cross-section of Mexico, through the Basin of Mexico. From yon Humboldt,
1922.
 175
of the total surface water discharge, much of which occurred in severe floods
(Gama, 1920). The Avenidas River drains the northeast part of the Basra and
it too was prone to flooding (Fig. 1).
In 1607, a canal was cut through the divide along the north rode of the Basin
to drain the headwaters of the Avenidas River. In 1901, a tunnel at a lower
elevation allowed drainage of the entire Valley. Bef~,re 1901, all precipitation
over the Basin was lost by evaporation from the lake surface and evapotrans-
piration by plants. The salt t h a t accumulated from these processes accounts for
the saline water now found in the lake and associated sediments.
The Sierra de las Cruces on the west side of the Basin, and the Sierra Nevada
on the east side are formed mainly of volcanic rocks of andesitic composition.
Tufts, agglomerates and lahar-type depositional modes are recognised.
Interbeds of water-laid sediments are common. Slopes are, for the most part,
steep, so erosion does not allow for weathered material to accumulate in deep
soil horizons. Several small valleys in the uplands regions have alluvial fill
deposits but alluvium does not seem to be accumulating anywhere else in the
mountains.
Features that look like extensive, dissected alluvial fans separate these
mountains from the lacustrine plain (Fig. 1). Excavations for aggregate and
examination of deep artificial cuts in excavations for highways show that the
material is mostly pyroclastic w tufts and agglomerates that are younger than
the rocks of the cores of the mountains. The water table in this setting is very
deep (> 50m) which suggests very high permeability and high rates of infil-
tration.
Modern stream channels are cut deeply into these surfaces so no alluvial
deposition is occurring on them now. No extensive fans of deltas are associated
with these modern streams so it appears that except for the minor deposition
of alluvium in some mountain lakes, all material eroded from the mountains is
being carried down to the plain and it is almost exclusively fine-grained in
texture.
The slopes of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatepetl are Recent lava flows and
pyroclastics, Still barren and uneroded, likely as a consequence of inadequate
time combined with very high permeability which allows infiltration of most of
the precipitation.
The Basin of Mexico is closed to the ~,~)uthby the Sierra Chichinautzin, a
broad ridge that rises some 700m above the Valley floor, formed mostly of
basaltic flows of Quaternary and Recent age. Pyroclastic cones of various sizes
are scattered widely across the mountain ridge. The terrain is rugged and
nearly lacking in stream channels. Overmost of the Chichinautzin evidence of
erosion and runoff are almost absent. The water table is several hundred meters
deep in a test well near the summit at an elevation of about 3000 m asl. Examin-
ation of the rocks confirms that they are extremely permeable, even more so
than those of the other mountains and the alluvial fan deposits. One concludes
that the infiltrationrate is very high. Basal flows extend from the Chichinaut-
zin slopes onto the lake plain, and are known to be interbedded with the valley
filldeposits in places.
176

/ r.ZUMPANGO

\
¥
PGUAOALUPE

LEGEND: LAKE
TEXCOCO
T AHUEHUETE
O SPRINGPOTABLE L AKE
WATER
d- ARTESIAN WELL ~' ......
0
~PENoN
i
oE
LOS BANOS
]
POTABLE WATER
CHAPULTEPE
m SPRINGWATER
NOT POTABLE
ARTESIAN WELL
m WATER NOT
POTABLE
%
,.- - - DIKE OR CALZADA o STA.

5k~ "~ ~ _ m LA.e 2

xC

Fig. 3. Evidence of groundwater conditions in the Valley of Mexico. From the Mapa de Upsala of
the 16th century, reproduced by the Colegio de Santa Cruz Tlatelolco para Aborigenes; Leon-
Portilla and Aguilera, 1986; and other sources.

The Basin is closed along the north side by hills of Tertiary tufts and
Quaternary basal flows, with interbedded sediments. Cretaceous limestone
crops out along one sector of the northern divide, and in the slopes across the
southern divide, but, according to recent testdrilling, is at a depth of some
2000m below the Valley floor.
The Basin of Mex~.co includes several subbasins such as Apan in the
northeast (not included in this study), Zumpango in the northwest and Chalco
in the southeast. Lake Texcoco basin occupies the lowest part of the valley
floor (Figs. 1 and 3), and received overflow from the other lakes in times of
heavy runoff. This part of the Valley is underlain by up to 100m of lacustrine
clay. A number of peaks and outcrops of volcanic rock protrude from the Valley
floor (Figs. 1 and ~).
 177

The climate of the Valley is influenced by its elevation, storm patterns from
both east (the Gulf of Mexico) and west (the Pacific Ocean), and of course the
latitude (20° N). Annual precipitation on the Valley floor is about 700 mm. Most
of this falls as rain in the summer season, betwe~n May and October. Mean
annual temperv~ure is between 14 and 16°C and annual evaporation is
1600-1700mm on the valley floor (SRH-CHCVM, 1966). This climatic pattern
persists in the mountains both to the west and the east but precipitation is
higher and the seasons are less distinct; it is more arid in the north.
Human settlement for several millenia has altered the flora of the whole
Basin of Mexico to the degree that interpretation of historic records and
ecological factors are the only way of determining what the natural vegetation
must have been. That is beyond the scope of this paper but certain factors are
pertinent to this study.
Extensive pine forests still cover a large part of the uplands region of the
Sierra de las Cruces, the Sierra Nevada and to a lesser degree, the Chichinaut-
zin range. Conditions seem suited to this type of climax flora (SSP-INEGI,
1986), and paintings and sketches from the Colonial Period (1521-1821) show
scenes (Benitez, 1984, vol. 2) that support this interpretation.
Gibson (1964) reports replacement of the mountain forest by the cultivation
of maize and agave but there is little direct evidence of a logging of charcoal
industry that would account for the degree of deforestation of the uplands
observed today.
Very little is known of past conditions in the borderlands between the
mountains and the lakes except that irrigation was practised by the people of
Teotihuacan, the ancient city of the pyramids, already abandoned in the 13th
century when the Aztecs first arrived in the Va!ley, which indicates that the
soil was suitable for crops but that additional water was needed for good
growth. The same conditions prevail today and the same irrigation practises
continue in this zone of the Valley.
On the fiat valley floor of Lake Mexico-Texcoco the shorelines of the lakes
were extensive swamps or wetlands where the water table was near ground
surface.
The ahuehuete or sabino (Taxodium mucronatum) is a tree that has a special
place in Mexican culture, perhaps because of its longevity (huehue means old
in Nahuatl, the language of the native people), and its enormou,.~ size. Also, it
may be a valuable indicator of groundwater conditions. The "Arbol del Tule"
is an ahuehuete some 2000 years old. The "Ahuehuete de Chalma" was held
sacred before the arrival of the conquistadores. A spring rises from between its
large roots. Both of these trees had religious significance for the native peoples
and both are sites of shrines today. Another, the "Arbol de la Noche Triste" in
Mexico City, died about six years ago likely because of deteriorating environ-
mental conditions. It was a large tree in 1520 when Hernan Cortes rested under
it and wept after being driven from the city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan with heavy
losses (see CM-CEH, 1983, vol. 1, p. 293).
The longevity of the ahuehuete has been established by historic evidence,
178

such as that cited above, by core analyses including radio-carbon dating and
ring-counting (Roldan, 1931), and by observations on the growth of young
specimens. The latter are almost unknown in the Valley of Mexico except in
plant nurseries.
All ahuehuetes identified in the Valley in this study are in places where
potable groundwater is being discharged by upward flow or is very near ground
surface (Fig. 3). Ahuehuetes are phreatophytes of significance as indicators of
fresh, shallow groundwater. Also, ahuehuetes are almost invariably found in
zones where earthquake damage is most severe, and not elsewhere in the
lacustrine zone. We speculate that fractures have been opened in the clays by
seismic waves and that these fractures allow fresh water from the aquifers
below to rise to the surface where it is available for the use of this phrea-
tophyte.
Zones of ahuehuetes are commonly adjacent to a zone of ahuejotes (Salix
bomplandiana). The latter indicate an increase in the salinity of the ground-
water from the fresh facies of the ahuehuete habitat. Ahuejotes are also
common in areas of chinampas (Armillas, 1971), where market gardening was
done on rafts partly to counteract the effects of slightly saline water.
A zone of plain halophyte grass beyond the ahuejotes is a common obser-
vation in the Xochimilco-Chalco areas (Fig. 3) and indicates further degra-
dation of soil and shallow groundwater.

I N F O R M A T I O N F R O M HISTORICAL R E S E A R C H

Precolombian records

In the Basin of Mexico, fresh water from springs has been a major factor in
all societies to the present, time. All early settlements were at freshwater
springs, which are abundant and widely distributed, in the mountainous areas
and near the foot of the mountains, but rather infrequent elsewhere (Fig. 3).
The mountain springs did not become centres of important settlements, likely
because the soil was not as fertile, and the environment generally was less
attractive.
The Teotihuacan culture became important in the northeastern part of the
Basin about the 8th century and was based on irrigation using spring water. By
the time the Aztecs arrived after a pilgrimage of some generations, the Teoti-
huacan site had been abandoned for centuries, and the Valley of Mexico was
controlled by other strong, organized tribes. The Aztecs were allowed, by the
Tecpenecas, to settle near Chapultepec, noted for its springs. In 1325 they
moved to two small sedimentary islands in the lake, where they founded the
City of Mexico-Tenochtitlan (Soustelle, 1984). The source of water for this new
community must have been small springs, as the lake is known to have been
nonpotable, as was almost all shallow groundwater. Diaz del Castillo (1632)
cites an episode in which one Indian and one Spanish soldier died of thirst on
a military expedition along the shoreline near Xochimilco. Leon-Portilla (1987,
 179
p. 166) cites an Indian poem t h a t refers to the nonpotable water of the lake.
Other evidence of springs on the islands is a drawing from the 16th century
which depicts an Indian in Tenochtitlan at a spring at what is now "Glorieta
Cuitlahuac" (Toussaint et al., 1936), and the Florentine Codex of the 16th
century refers to these springs.
Water use in the daily life of the Aztecs was probably high compared to that
of other societies of the time. In contrast to the Europeans, for example, the
Aztecs bathed daily (Soustelle, 1984) and noncompliance with this standard
was grounds for divorce. Clothes were washed regularly as were floors and even
streets. In Mexico-Tenochtitlan there was no space for commercial agriculture
but the Aztecs were fond of flowers and ornamental plants, so some fresh water
was used for watering public and private gardens (Soustelle, 1984). Thermal
mineral springs at Penon de los Banos (Fig. 1) were on a line of springs along
a suspected fracture in the rocks underlying the valley fill. They were, and still
are, used as spas, but they no longer flow at the surface.
In this protected location and under the strong and strict rule of the Aztec
leaders, Mexico-Tenochtitlan prospered and grew, putting additional pressure
on the scant, local water supply. Soon, new sources of water were needed to
meet the growing demand. In 1424, 99 years after founding of the city, the first
Aztec war of conquest was launched against the tribes who had first offered
them a home in the Valley (Leon-Portilla, 1983). Chapultepec, with its springs,
came under control of the Aztecs. Later, the springs of Coyoacan and
Xochimilco in the southern part of the Valley were added to the new empire.
Aqueducts were constructed to carry water first from Chapultepec and then
from Coyoacan to Mexico-Tenochtitlan across causeways or calzadas that are
still main thoroughfares in Mexico City. There are references in the literature
(Bribiesca-Castrejon, 1960a), to a disastrous flood that resulted from some sort
of accident during the official opening of the Coyoacan system. We have no
explanation for this event, but apparently it was considered a bad omen and the
aqueduct was destroyed. The lake was a major factor in many aspects of Aztec
~ife, in addition to the protection it offered the city. It was especially important
in communication and transport, because the wheel was unknown, at least as
a practical machine. Water and other commodities were delivered by canoe
through an a r r a y of canals to all parts of the city (Palerm, 1973). Fish and
waterfowl were abundant and were an important source of food. Throughout
historic time, all lakes in the Valley have been shallow with depths between 0.5
and 2m (Gama, 1920, p. 22).
The saline waters of the lowest part of the lake system, Texcoco Lake, were
evaporated to get salt, ~n important commodity in trade (Leon-Portilla and
Agilera, 1986). Salt has had an important role in society and trade throughout
history but it was especially important in Mesoamerica because one of the
stable foods was a variety of bean that was made more easily digestible through
cooking in salt water (A. Lopez-Austin, Instituto de Investigaciones An-
tropologicas ~ UNAM, pers. commun.). Concentrated brines in the thin
aquifers enclosed within the lacustrine clays, the so called "capa duras", are
18o
now the raw material of an important chemical industry. Such extensive
occurrence of salt is not unknown in closed, fresh-water basins but in the case
of the Valley of Mexico, the surface water that reaches the lakes from the
mountains of crystalline rocks has a very low dissolved load. Ortega and
Farvolden (1989) present results of computer modelling which suggest that an
important part of the water reaching Lake Texcoco is groundwater that has
traversed soluble rock. This interpretation is supported by other evidence, that
wherever it occurs, the salt is more-or-less evenly distributed throughout a
vertical column of the clay, whereas salt brought in by surface water from the
other lake basins would be expected to occur as concentrations in horizontal
strata. It is also possible that molecular diffusion has created a uniform con-
centration in what was originally a stratified deposit, but we have not
examined this case.
The Valley and its citiesfrom these times to the present has been susceptible
to severe flooding (Leon-Portilla, 1983, p. 103).In spite of the high permeability
of much of the terrain in the mountains, heavy and prolonged rain causes
excessive storm discharge in some streams. On the flat Valley floor, the high
water table, with the capillary fringe nearly at ground surface, and an upward
groundwater gradient, all combine to preclude any infiltration.Ponding occurs
almost instantly after precipitation commences, and overland flow can be
observed on a very broad scale.To reduce flood damage, the Aztecs constructed
additional calzadas or dikes to divide the lake into sectors and to control flow
between these sectors. In times of high water or storms the salt water of Lake
Texcoco was mixed with the fresh water of the other lakes and this was also
controlled to some degree by the dikes (Fig. 3) (Palerm, 1973).
M a n y of the major springs responded rapidly to heavy, prolonged rain, and
were seen as a cause of flooding. There are references in the literature to
plugging of springs to prevent or reduce flooding (Bribiesca-Castrejon, 1960a).
From a hydrogeological perspective, it is hard to envisage how this could be
accomplished other than by plugging the main outlet and diverting the flow to
other channels, perhaps to diffuse flow that would escape notice.

The Colonial Period

The Spanish continued the use of springs for municipal water supply
although they had the technology for digging wells to exploit groundwater.
The poor quality of the shallow groundwater in the s~ficial clays apparently
discouraged any effort in that direction. However, in i.847 the firstwell was
drilled through the clay strata, about 40 m thick in the central part of the City
and water of excellent quality was found (Rio de la Loza and Craveri, 1858) in
a "capa dura" zone within the clay. This discovery sparked drilling activity
and 200 flowing wells were reported a few years later. Typical piezometric
levels were around 2.7m above the land surface (Orozco y Berra, 1864).
Artesian flow was also found in the Lake Texcoco area and the area around the
southern part of Lake Zumpango; in both places some wells flowed salt water
 181
and a few were reported to produce combustible gas (Galvez, 1916; Flores, 1918).
Deep wells were not drilled in the Xochimilco and Chalco areas in the last
century because most of the land was still inundated and water was available
there from local, productive springs. The lakes were fed in part at least by tens
or hundreds of small, underwater springs (Penafiel, 1884). Artesian flow
conditions north of Lake Zumpango are not reported, and the groundwater
there was not potable (Penafiel, 1884).

GROUNDWATER A N D U R B A N I Z A T I O N IN T H E V A L L E Y O F M E X I C O

After t h e Spanish conquest in 1521 the indigenous society was transformed

in a disastrous fashion which is reflected in the population graph shown on Fig.
4. The native population of the Valley was about one million at the time of the
conquest, and of this, about 300,000 lived in the Aztec capital of
Mexico-Tenochtitlan. The population was decimated by the war and disease,
and suffered further as the conquerors conscripted slave labour to build their
new city on the ruins of the old. Population growth was then more or less

3QD(X)000 A GARZA ( 1 9 8 5 )
(30%)~
0 BONINE el ol. ( 1 9 7 0 ) d
I
13 LOZANO- PADILLA (EXCELSIOR, SEP 4 , 1 9 8 8 )
(16/=)oO
I0.000000 (%) PERCENTAGE OF NATIONAL POPULATION

(I3%) O
/
/
O

(8%) /
AZTEC C0LON'AL SEL~ O
RULE =~ RULE =~RULE :~O/
~000000- ~

Z
Z _1
9
I-
,~ 0-
-t-
(3%o /

_1 ti.u A Q
:~
a..
O0
Z
II
o
II .(2.4J
I I
I t
/ I
I I
I I

'/
A f 13%)
I I
I
I
/
I
I
/
/
I I I J I I I
1400 1500 1600 1700 |800 19OO 20~00
YEAR

Fig. 4. Population graph of Mexico City, 1325 to 1988, sources as shown.

182

steady through colonial times and by 1880 the population was about the same
as before the conquest. However, throughout this period, the city now called
Mexico (City) kept its place as the most important centre in N e w Spain and one
of the important centres in the Americas.
The lake receded and the city had expanded far beyond the islands of
Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco, but canals stillconnected the major centres of the
southern part of the Valley and commercial water transportation was stilla
means of moving goods and people. In 190! a tunnel was completed to provide
better drainage from the Valley.
The growth rate of the city increased markedly about 50 years ago as part
of the industrial development that followed the Mexican Revolution. The main
development was on the fiat lowlands of the valley floor, but in later years
residential, industrial and business construction spread to the adjacent slopes,
especially to the west and south. The central urban area now has a population
of 18 million that is increasing at a rate of 3.5% per year, down from 5% in the
early part of this decade. Over 1000 km 2 are completed urbanized and this area
is growing at the rate of over 11kin 2 per year (SAR-CAVM, 1988). The
population of the Valley is expected to be 25-35 million by the turn of the
century. Megalopilization is a vigorous process in the City of Mexico
(Messmacher, 1987).

Water supply

Springs were always the preferred source of water for municipal supply until
the demand could not be met, so until that stage was reached almost all wells
were for industrial use. However, in 1936, early in the period of rapid growth,
wells began to be used by the City. Molina-Berbeyer (1954) reports levels in
unpumped, 80 m-deep wells at Lake Texcoco to be 3-7 m above the land surface.
The declining water levels in wells and the land subsidence, in the
downtown area was reported by Blanco (1948). Carrillo (1948) showed theoreti-
cally, the cause and effect of depressuring and consolidation of the clays. A n
extensive research program involving drilling, field tests and laboratory
studies by Marsal and Mazari (1959) was a landmark in the field of soil
mechanics, and proved conclusively that Carillo's interpretation was correct.
At the time the land subsidence was up to 0.4 m per year in places, and it was
clear evidence that the high rate of groundwater extraction had to be stopped.
Alternate sources of water were required. Pumping was drastically reduced in
the City centre and new well fields were established, mostly in the southern
part of the Valley, on land owned or controlled by government agencies. Well
fields are commonly lines of wells, equally spaced along a road or canal or in
a park. Ease of access rather than hydrogeologic conditions seems to have
governed decisions over siting of new wells.
Reduction of pumping rates in the City centre and vicinity has had the
desired effect of reducing the rate of land subsidence in this zone. However,
withdrawals from the aquifers below the clay has also had the effect of
 183

WEST EAST

=$ ~ ~ .
2250
_ ~ ~ " .- ~z : u
~ z (n u_.~Jz
..¢.,,, w ~ , , , ~
_ ¢[
z

¢'~,f- (.9 .-I~ w t.J

zO e,, o v m z

224O
/\~ < .

WATER TABLE
". J' 2230
- / /~"- PIEZOMETRIC HEAD
/ AT DEPTH OF 3 3 m
tlJ

/ ./ /
.~ \ + /
/ \ /
2220
.-~: \'~-/
"
.j -'~'" ]AT
~.~-[PIEZOMETRIC HEAD
DEPTH OF 5 0 m

22,ol /
../ \
".~/"
/

Fig. 5. Cross-section of 1952 groundwater levels through downtown Mexico City, showing a
vertical gradient downward. From SRH-CHCVM (1953).

TABLE 1

Population growth and water demand of Mexico City and suburbs since 1900

Year Area Population Water supply (m 3 s- ! Sewerage

(km 2) outflow
10b % Ground- Imports (m 3 s- 1)
natl. water

1900 0.34 (4) 0.42 (4) 3 (1) > 1.19 (4) 0

1910 0.5 (5) 0.54 (1) 4 (1) 1.7 (5) 0
1921 0.9 (5) 0.78 (1) 5 (1) 2.0 (5) 0
193(P 86 (2) 1.08 (1) 7 (I) 3.1 (4) 0 >4 (7)
1940 118 (2) 1.57 (1) 8 (1) 4.3 (4) 0 >5 (7)
1950 240 (2) 2.59 (1) 10 (1) 11 (4) 0 > 11 (7)
1960 272 (2) 4.66 (1) 13 (1) 16.6 (4) 4.4 > 12 (7)
1970b 493 (2) 8.8 (2) 15 (2) 26 10
1980 1000 (2) 14.5 (2) 16 (2) 41.9 (4) 8.4 (4) 45 (8)
1988 1100 (?) 18 23 55 (6) 13 53 (6)
2000 1800 (3) 30 (3) 30 (5) Total 1()0 (?)

"Now comprises the Federal District of Mexico.

bNew comprises the Metropolitan Zone of Mexico City.
Sources: (1) Bonine et al, 1970; (2) Romero, 1988; (3) Cabera-Acevedo, in prep.; (4) Garza, 1985; (5)
Bribiesca-Castrejon, 1960b; (6) SARH-CAVM, 1988; (7) Marsal and Mazari, 1959 (dry season
values); (8) SARH-CPNH, 1980.
184

reversing the gradient in the near-surface horizons of the Valley so that

upward movement of groundwater has stopped and now the groundwater in
this zone is moving downward, toward the aquifers. This means for the first
time since the Valley was occupied by man, it is possible for contaminants to
migrate from the ground surface to the aquifers under the influence of the
hydraulic gradient (Fig. 5). The Xochimilco-Chalco Lake dried up, more or less
following the esLblishment of important well fields in the area (Armillas,
1971), and a consequence of this was the end of a millenium of chinampa
cultivation (market gardens on rafts).
The municipal water system now produces more than 68m3s -1 of which
55 m3s- ~is from sources in the basin, mostly from wells. As would be expected,
the water demand grows with the City (Table 1).
Solid municipal waste is produced at the rate of 13 million kg d ~. Much of
this is recycled but there is still a very large amount to be disposed of in the
major landfills, which must expand rapidly to accommodate it. Reversed
gradients in the shallow subsurface, described above, make these sites
potential sources of groundwater contamination, as are all sewage and
drainage canals that cross zones of heavy groundwater withdrawals and
drawdown cones.
We do not know exactly what influence this urbanization has had on the
hydrologic regime. The flood hazard was surely severely exacerbated by
urbanization, and drainage became a goal for the Spanish soon after the
conquest. At first the headwaters of some of the tributaries to the Avenidas and
Cuautitlan rivers were diverted across the northern divide of the Sierra de
Tezontlalpan, to reduce the flow toward Lake Zumpango and eventually
Texcoco. This did not solve the problem and :,~ seems that after every major
inundation, a new effort was launched to improve the artificial drainage of the
valley lowland. The tunnel completed in 1901 finally allowed graviW drainage
of the Valley, through the hydrological divide that forms the northern side of
the Basin, north of Lake Zumpango. The navigation canals disappeared and the
only canals remaining are for drainage of storm runoff and sewerage.
Deep canals (emisores) have been constructed across the western part of the
valley, upslope from the city centre, to carry storm runoff and sewerage to the
north to connect with the main drainage canal.
Some 13 m3s -~ of water is imported to the valley and this may be as much
as a 20% increase over the volume of water that reaches the valley floor,
according to calculations based on evaporation from lake water surfaces. This
is a further load on the drainage system. The water pumped from wells is
coming in large part from storage and so also represents an increment on the
natural input to the ~,,urfacewater system.

INTERPRETATIONS

The most striking feature of groundwater occurrence in the Basin of Mexico

is the evidence that the entire valley floor was a groundwater discharge zone.
 185

A ~ 1
/ ~'~-~\\ .ll~ .,// A \\
.~, I I \ \ ~ _. ',.,,,,. /I// I I ~ ~ \

Fig. 6. Interpretation of the groundwater flow system in the Basin of Mexico. A = water table deep,
gradients downward, recharge zone; B = water table shallow, gradients upward, discharge zone;
B i = focussed discharge at break in slope and/or termination of main aquifers; B i i = diffuse
discharge across Valley floor upward through clays; B i i i = discharge from perched zones, mostly
small and intermittent; B i v = thermal-mineral springs, upward flow through ~actures from deep
aquifers; C = all discharge from the closed basin by evapotranspiration.

Upward groundwater gradients, patterns of groundwater chemistry, thermal

springs, and phreatophytes all provide evidence 9f this interpretation. The
mountains are the only possible zone for recharge and the Basin thus provides
a very good example of a groundwater gravity flow system, as shown in Fig. 6.
This idea seems common among groundwater workers in the Valley of Mexico
and was suggested by Von Humboldt (1922), Marsal and Mazari, (1959) and
Mooser, (1963), but it has never been developed and published using the hydro-
geologic information that we have described.
The Chichinautzin Mountains across the southern end of the Valley are
barren over extensive areas, have a good low runoff coefficient and are
obviously very permeable and a good candidate for a groundwater recharge
zone. Other mountains that enclose the Valley are not so obviously good
recharge zones. The Sierra de las Cruces to the west, for example, is heavily
forested and numerous and widespread small springs and seeps are proof that
the entire uplands region is not a recharge zone for the main aquifers of the
Valley. However, there are many canyons, tunnels and roadcuts that show a
deep water table, which indicate that the rocks are very permeable and the
recharge rate is high. At high elevations the springs are perched. An outstand-
ing example is Lago Zempoala at an elevation of 3850 m, and its catchment of
about 8 km 2. The basin and the lake have all the characteristics of a perennial
stream system in a humid climate except that at high-water stages the lake
drains into an adjacent sinkhole. The whole system is perched!
For the most part the springs occur only in deep gullies with dry walls where
the bottom of the gully just touches the water table. This extensive upland
region with an annual precipitation of about 1500 mm has almost no perennial
streams, ~hrther evidence of high infiltration rates.
The Sierra Nevada range along the east side of the Basin is similar in many
ways, but is reported to have an even lower coefficient of runoff (DDG-SPP,
1983). The Sierra Tezontlalpan along the northern side of the Basin is less
permeable and the rivers in this part of the Basin are more prone to flooding.
186

As is common for gravity flow systems, most discharge occurs where the
slope changes abruptly, or where permeable units terminate at the edge of the
Valley. The largest springs were along the foot of the Chichinautzin and the
Sierra de las Cruces ranges. The thick lacustrine clay-cover over the valley
floor also served to focus the discharge along this zone between the mountains
and the lowlands, although discharge occurred into the lake bottom as is
reported by Penafiel (1884), and springs in the central part of the Valley attest
to some diffuse discharge over a wide area.
These interpretations are supported by modelling studies done by Ortega
and Farvolden (1989). The model is based on a hydrogeological interpretation
of published geological maps, the geologic and hydrologic literature,
documents on groundwater occurrence, and field observations. The model
study quantifies many aspects of the groundwater regime described only
qualitatively in this paper.
Ahuehuetes are the only phreatophyte that we know to be a good indicator
of shallow, fresh groundwater, and they are still found at scattered localities
in the Valley. Apparently the Spanish colonials recognized the ahuehuetes as
water consumers as there are reports of groves of these trees being cut down
in the hope of increasing the flow of nearby springs. It may be assumed that
they were once more plentiful, although they were surely restricted to the
zones of fresh groundwater discharge where they are found today.
The flow of the major springs responded rapidly and strongly to precipi-
tation in the mountains. The groundwater reservoir must have some of the
characteristics of a karst terrane - - high permeability and very low storativity
m which would account for extreme rises in hydraulic head following
prolonged rains. These conditions can also be used to explain the accounts of
the appearance of springs in the streets of Mexico City during inundations
(Von Humboldt, 1822). Such springs could mark the termination, in the
subsurface, of a highly permeable basalt flow extending from the Chichinautzin
foothills. The complete drying.up of the springs at Chapultepec and Xochimilco
can be explained as a response of the reservoir to pumping only if the natural
gradients were very low so that a relatively small drawdown would cause a
dramatic effect.
Saline groundwaters in the main aquifers (below the clay) and hot springs
are restricted to the Lake Texcoco region and central portions of the Valley,
again fitting the pattern of flow for a near-ideal system. It is interesting to
speculate that the upward hydraulic gradient may have been the cause of the
extremely high water content (average = 400%) of the lacustrine clays. An
upward gradient would reduce the effective stress and perhaps allow a
relatively stable condition with very low compaction following deposition of
the sediment.
The accumulation of salt must have begun with the accumulation of the
lacustrine clays and that must have been at the time of final closing of the
Valley by the lava flows of the Sierra Chichinautzin, about 40,000 years ago
(Mooser, 1963). Fossils in the clays provide evidence for changes in the climate
 187

TABLE 2

W a t e r b u d g e t for first-order estimaLe vf g r o u n d w a t e r inflow to V a l l e y

Area Pan evaporation Loss Precipitation Gain

km 2 (m y r -1) (m S s -1) (m y r -1) (m 3 s -1)

Lakes 1200 1.6 61 0.6 23 + ( G W + S R O )

Uplands 6500 - 1.0 206

G W = g r o u n d w a t e r flow i n t o lakes; S R O = surface w a t e r r u n o f f i n t o lakes; G W + S R O = 61 m 3

s- ~ - 23 m 3 s - 1 = 38 m 3 s- ~. T r a n s p i r a t i o n over t h e u p l a n d s was e q u a l a t least to t h e p r e c i p i t a t i o n
less t h e S R O + i n f i l t r a t i o n ( G W ) , o r 206 - 38 = 168 m 3 s -1. D a t a from S R H - C H C V M (1966).

and sedimentary environment, and some intervals of dessication of the valley

floor are indicated (Herrera, S., pets. commun., 1988). However, even for these
conditions, groundwater would continue to be discharged on the valley floor
and any surface water would be saline. Some salt may have been washed to the
lowest part of the Valley, the Lake Texcoco basin, from other dried lake floors
by flash floods.
A water budget using geographical information and meteorological data
provides an insight into the hydrologic regime of the Basin. Budgets of this sort
have been made for the Basin previously, but we want to show conceptually,
the distribution of components of the budget in terms of the groundwater flow
model described in this document.
This budget is an extreme generalization; for example the evapotranspira-
tion "loss" from the wetlands or swamps is not conside!°ed, and this might
increase the figures calculated for both "gain" and "loss" to the lake system
(Table 2). The figure calculated for groundwater plus surface water discharge
into the lake (GW + SRO) might be increased by a factor of two, in which case
the total fresh water input to the lake system would be about 75-80 m3s-1. To
obtain the total groundwater input to the lake we must subtract the surface
water inflow, so the groundwater input is something less than 75-80 m3s-1.
However, all of this 75--80m3s-1 cannot be considered "surplus" and
available for exploitation on a steady-state basis. Evapotranspiration "losses"
continue from vegetation on the valley floor and so this water is not, and never
has been available for exploitation by wells unless the water used for evapo-
transpiration is diverted and captured by the wells. O~_the other hand, the lake
has almost disappeared so the evaporation loss from that large water surface
has stopped, and represents a component of the hydrologic budget that can be
exploited, theoretically, without imposing on any other component of the
budget. Exploitation at the former rate of lake evaporation would help restore
the original water balance. Thus, even though these estimates are based on a
very simple analysis, they still provide some insight into the amount of ground-
water flow into the Valley. Until further data are forthcoming, we may assume
that the present rate of groundwater withdrawal from springs and wells within
the Valley of 55 m 3 s - 1 is approximately the amount available for long-term
188

exploitation. Withdrawals at greater rates can only be made at even greater

depletion of storage in the clays and aquifers.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Under natural conditions that prevailed until heavy pumping of aquifers

began in the 1930s, the entire Valley of Mexico was a groundwater discharge
zone. Most fresh groundwater was discharged in large springs along the edge
of the Valley. Some thermal mineral waters were discharged in springs along
suspected fractures.Diffuse discharge occurred over much of the lake bottom.
The upward groundwater gradients through the clay beds m a y have generated
seepage pressures that resisted the compaction of sediments that leads to
normal consolidation. Evaporation of water from the closed Valley of Mexico
caused saltaccumulation in the lakes and lake sediments, and this has been an
important factor in human habitation of the Valley for both ancient and
modern societies.
The phreatophytic ahuehuete tree is an indicator of fresh groundwater on
the lacustrine plain. The occurrence of ahuehuetes, indicating fresh ground-
water, at places where earthquake damage is severe, leads to the inference that
fresh groundwater arrives at ground surface via open seismic-induced
fractures that cut through saline zones of the sediments. The groundwater
gradient is now downward over most of the lacustrine plain, owing to depres-
suring of the aquifer by heavy pumping. The drainage and consolidation of the
clays has resulted in land subsidence up to eight metres in the City centre and
to a noticeable degree over a wide area of the Valley (Marsal and Mazari, 1959).
The possibilitynow existsfor contaminants from various land-use activitieson
the lacustrine plain, such as landfills,sewerage canals, petrochemical, and
other industries, to pass downward through the clays and into the main
aquifers. Also, the recent growth of nonsewered suburbs on the slopes above
the lake plain provides the potential for rapid movement of contaminants
through alluvium and fractured rock to the aquifers in these recharge zones.
These aquifers now provide most of the municipal water supply for the 20
million people of the City of Mexico and environs and every effortmust be made
to protect thisresource. Groundwater management and protection will become
even more crucial as the population grows during the next decade to more than
30 million. A thorough understanding of the groundwater regime will be
essential.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many colleagues at the Institute of Geophysics (IGF), and other institutes

of UNAM, and from Mexican Government agencies, especially the Department
of the Federal District (DDF), the Commission for Water for the Valley of
Mexico (CAVM), and the Groundwater Department of the Secretary for Agri-
culture and Water Resources (SARH), helped in this project. Special thanks are
due those at IGF who helped prepare a bibliography of some 1000 titles which
 189

make direct or indirect reference to water in the Basin of Mexico. This had to
be compiled before any serious research could be done. Esteia Hernandez de
Oropeza and Adrian Ortega were among the major contributors. M. Mazari has
been very generous with his time and advice. David Rudolph has helped in our
interpretations and John Cherry reviewed the manuscript and suggested many
improvements. Funding of the work was provided by IGF, partly from projects
supported by the agencies mentioned above, and by the International Develop-
ment Research Centre, Ottawa, through support of the Valley of Mexico
Aquifer Study.

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