Houston is nation's fastest-sinking city, with subsidence citywide
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Houston is sinking faster than any other major U.S. city, new research shows.
Why it matters: Land subsidence is an invisible but growing threat to urban infrastructure — cracking roads, destabilizing buildings and making low-lying areas even more flood-prone.
Driving the news: In a peer-reviewed study published this month in Nature, researchers analyzed six years of satellite radar data in the 28 most populous U.S. cities.
- They found Houston was sinking the fastest, with 42% of its area subsiding faster than 5 millimeters per year — and 12% faster than 10 millimeters per year.
- Across the region, long-term groundwater mining and oil and gas extraction have pushed those rates up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) per year in certain areas, according to the study.
Zoom in: The largest rates of recent subsidence are present in the north and western parts of Greater Houston, though they historically have also impacted eastern communities including Baytown and Pasadena.
The big picture: Subsidence has long been associated with sinking cities like Houston, but new research shows it's a widespread issue across the U.S.
- Researchers found that 25 of the 28 cities are subsiding, affecting more than 33 million people — over 10% of the U.S. population — who live on sinking land.
- The cities are sinking by 2 to 10 millimeters — or 0.08 to 0.39 inches — per year, the study found.
Flashback: The Houston region's groundwater production has been regulated since the 1970s after unmitigated drilling amid a population boom led to widespread sinking in Harris County of up to 1 foot and up to 13 feet in isolated areas in the early 1900s.
- The Harris-Galveston Subsidence District is one of several governmental entities tasked with setting rules and approving permits for water wells. The district caps overall demand for mining as a source of freshwater at 20% for most of Harris County and 10% closer to the coast to help prevent subsidence.
Threat level: Flooding disasters can be exacerbated by subsidence, especially with Houston's proximity to the Gulf Coast and connection to Galveston Bay through Buffalo Bayou, the study indicates.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing work to eventually construct a coastal spine, called the "Ike Dike," to prevent storm surge from impacting inland communities.
- The project was approved by Congress in 2022 and got its first batch of federal funding in 2024. It moved into the design stage in March.
- Construction will last up to 20 years, depending on funding.
What they're saying: Researchers urge cities to factor subsidence into zoning, infrastructure upgrades and flood planning.
- They also call for long-term ground monitoring and public outreach to ensure communities are prepared for slow but damaging shifts.
The bottom line: Uneven sinking puts stress on buildings, leading to cracks, warped frames or even structural failure, researcher Manoochehr Shirzaei told New Scientist.
- "We need to start treating subsidence like the slow-moving disaster it is."