Tempe Town Lake

USA / Arizona / Tempe /
This artificial lake was installed by the city of Tempe in hopes of attracting tourism. The river was completely diverted to water people's lawns. Then they dammed up a section and filled it with water runoff from the golf courses.
www.tempe.gov/lake/

On 20 July 2010, one section of Tempe Town Lake Dam gave way, releasing the dam's contents into the lower Salt River bed.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempe_Town_Lake
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   33°26'0"N   111°55'56"W

Comments

  • I think it is filled in 1999.
  • I like this lake alot
  • Check your history. The water was diverted for agriculture.. originally by the people that lived there more then 500 years ago. white man just cleaned out the canals.. made them bigger.. then damned the river. It goes to 'lawns' now because too many people live there. I grew up there.. left to make room for one more water abuser. there use to be a lot of agriculture exported from the Salt River Valley, BEFORE it became 'The Valley of the Sun'
  • JM, it WAS about sixteen feet (5 meters) at its deepest points. I am typing this early the morning of July 21st and fully expect it to be wadeable within 24 hours.
This article was last modified 12 years ago