The Arizona Republic's online edition today had an article on a homeowner suing a builder, her agent, the listing agent and more or less whomever she can think of because of fissures that have opened on her property. Fissures have been an issue in Arizona in the past; water such as that coming during the summer monsoons exacerbate the problems. These fissures are caused in part by the pumping of ground water - as the water is removed from the ground, the ground sinks.

You can view some older photos of fissures on this environmental geophysics site from Arizona State University, and an information article on the University of Arizona's Water Resources Research Center site.

One interesting note from the Republic article ... according the real estate brokerage, the buyer waived their right to have a professional home inspection conducted. There's no assurance an inspection would have uncovered the fissures, or even the possibility - the state is very much behind on fissure mapping - but that's not to say the possibility would not have been discovered either.

(c) Jonathan Dalton, 2006 / Jonathan Dalton's Arizona Homes