This desert oasis east of Los Angeles sold itself for decades on water and all the luxury it brings: strings of emerald golf courses, lush resorts and manicured neighborhoods with sparkling pools. Now, the region that water built suddenly finds itself on shifting ground _ and in danger of drying up. Parts of the Coachella Valley have sunk more than a foot in a decade as groundwater was sucked up to feed a thirsty economy. there are fears that if more isn't done, the uneven turf eventually could fracture sewer lines, crack roads and crumble foundations, costing taxpayers millions of dollars in repairs. Scientists with the water district and the U.S. Geological Survey found that the earth sank anywhere from several inches to more than 13 inches at a dozen locations between 1996 and 2005, including in Indian Wells, La Quinta, Palm Desert and Coachella. Other places in California have sunk deeper, but they are so rural that there was no significant damage to structures. The San Joaquin Valley in Central California's breadbasket sank about 30 feet in 50 years and the Antelope Valley, north of Los Angeles, has sunk about 6 feet, Robbins said. The study also found a shortfall of billions of gallons of water in the aquifer, primarily as a result of growth that has pushed gated communities farther into the harsh desert on the eastern edge of the crescent-shaped valley. The area averages less than 3 inches of rainfall a year.

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