The ecological consequences of the draining were enormous . Parts of the valleys were turned semi-arid , and even today Mexico City suffers for lack of water . Due to overdrafting that is depleting the aquifer beneath the city , Mexico City is estimated to have dropped 10 meters in the last century . Furthermore , because soft lake sediments underlie most of Mexico City , the city has proven vulnerable to soil liquefaction during earthquakes , most notably in the 1985 earthquake when hundreds of buildings collapsed and thousands of lives were lost . The term " Texcoco Lake " now refers only to a big area surrounded by salt marshes east of Mexico City , which covers the ancient lake bed . Also there are small remnants of the lakes of Xochimilco , Chalco , and Zumpango
in the 1985 earthquake
1985 Mexico City earthquake
Lake Texcoco