And draining the aquifer is responsible? I think I’d get a second opinion on that one.
We know that does happen. Happened here in the US someplace out west.
I see it as a probability, as water simply fills the gaps in porous material. Suck the water out of it, and unless there is a rock bed above it, I can see where the ground level would go down. This would be especially true if that porous material being a very fine sand or silt.
A true mud puddle out in a dirt field will recede and crack once dried out. Similarly, an aquifer should shrink in size as the water is removed leaving the dirt above it no choice but to settle.
There are many areas in the Phoenix valley that have lowered in elevation due to subterranean conditions such as lowered aquifer. The area around Luke AFB east oh well he White Tank Mountains has settled 16 feet in the last 80 years. It is an area 30 miles by 20 miles in size.