Wow, a recent article in the Arizona Republic made me realize that this earth fissure issue is not even mentioned in the Arizona Association of Real Estate Buyer's Advisory, yet. The buyer's advisory only mentions "Expansive Soil" which is a completely different subject.

So what exactly is an earth fissure? In simple terms, an earth fissure is a crack (a big crack) in the earth which occurs because of the soil collapsing over the voids left due to excessive groundwater pumping.

I bet a lot of new home buyers, especially first time buyers and relocation clients are not even aware of earth fissures in Arizona. Chances are slim that your (future) home will be swallowed up, however every home owner or buyer should be aware of this issue.

It will be some time before we get a more precise map of the location of earth fissures in Maricopa County, in the mean time, there is a basic map available on the website of the Arizona Geological Survey publications.

Please see this recent article from the Arizona Republic:

Governor approves bill to identify, map fissures

Lisa Nicita

The Arizona Republic

Jun. 22, 2006 12:00 AMHomebuyers

soon will have a new tool when it comes to identifying fissures.

A bill passed without opposition by the House and Senate on Tuesday to fund new fissure maps and make them available online to whomever wants to see them.

Gov. Janet Napolitanosigned the bill Wednesday, and the law will take effect in 90 days.

"It'll be a major step," said Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock. "It will be ongoing, every month, to try to inform people and encourage them to get as much information as there is available any time they are seriously interested in a real estate acquisition or sale."

The law will require that maps of the earth fissures, or subsidence cracks, be posted online by the Arizona Department of Real Estate as early as January. It also will mandate that the maps be updated every five years.

Earth fissures have been a problem for decades, but they have become more prevalent in recent years as growth has pushed toward the agricultural fringes of the Valley. The cracks, which are the result of excessive groundwater pumping, caught the attention of the public last August.

That's when the ground opened near Queen Creek after a heavy monsoon rain, and swallowed portions of several homeowners' properties.

Silvia Centoz, a Queen Creek-area activist who has campaigned for tighter regulations regarding fissures for years, said she is happy to hear that the measure passed.

"It finally puts credibility into state statutes regarding subsidence and fissures," Centoz said.

The law brings together the data-collecting efforts of several state agencies, including the State Land Department, the Arizona Geological Survey and the Arizona Department of Real Estate. It also provides hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for the geological survey, which sends geologists into the field to map the cracks.

The survey estimated it could take up to four years to compile a set of maps.