The current water shortages in Mexico City contrast remarkably with the city's
situation in the past. When the Spanish arrived at the Aztec capital in 1519, they
found stone buildings and gardens set on an island in the middle of a vast series of
interconnected lakes—an "enchanted vision," according to one Spanish soldier.
The Spanish destroyed the buildings, and began draining' the water from the lakes
to build what became Mexico City. For the next four centuries, the city was able to
meet its water needs from springs, shallow wells, and the remaining lake water. In
the mid-nineteenth century, the residents of the city began taking water from the
underlying aquifer.
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In the twentieth century, as water needs grew and supplies
from the aquifer became inadequate, city authorities brought water up from two
nearby river systems. Twenty-five years ago, they began piping in water from 80
miles (130 km) away. Because Mexico City is located on a highland, the water must
all be pumped uphill at considerable expense