Mexiko

Tnel Emisor Poniente II –Mechanized Excavation

To the west of Mexico City, in the State of Mexico, a key component in a massive wastewater overhaul is underway. A 5.8 km tunnel project, known as Tnel Emisor Poniente (TEP) II, will supplement an existing wastewater line built in the 1970s and is part of a solution to a serious groundwater problem in the area.

The Valley of Mexico consists of a drained clay lake bed interspersed with volcanic rock and boulders from long dormant, buried volcanoes. Chronic groundwater depletion has resulted in soils that sink as much as 20 cm per year. All that sinking – amounting to as much as 10 m in the last century – has caused the city’s wastewater tunnels to lose their slope. The result is a recipe for massive flooding, and localized flooding each year during the rainy season.

Tnel Emisor Oriente and TEP II – Massive Endeavors to solve Groundwater Problems

TEP II is slated to overhaul the western areas outside of...

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