Bye Bye Tempe Town Lake (license, eat, design)

[observer53]

Apparently there was a problem with the sprinkling system because of the way the dam was installed-- I don't recall whether Bridgestone or someone else is being blamed for that. I'm not "opposed" to building another type of dam that would serve the purpose, or a "fan" of the rubber dam concept; newcomers or nonresidents calling it "stupid" just don't know how it all came about.

I don't see Tempe having the money to do a different type for a long time, though, so the replacement dam better be installed so that the sprinklers will work and this one will last longer.

[Ritchie_az]

I personally don't care what type of dam they use. But it does sound like long-term it won't be a rubber dam. But they'll gladly use the replacement rubber dams for a while, I'm sure.

[TVofM]

Even if the sprinkler didn't work, there are simple ways to douse it a couple of times a day that would help during the hot dry season. See the photo in the previous page of posts.

[Daniel NC]

The salt river is a necessary element to the deserts survival. Here we are damming all that water up. The only reason the salt is seasonal is that when the dam overflows, water runs down. When it doesnt, the water is backed up. PHX area residents dont even drink this water. Why havent we thought of purifying some of tempes water. Tempe could make some money off of that. Maybe they couldve used that money to fix the dam......

[Ragnar]

For better or worse, I really like Tempe Town Lake. It added a lot to my visit to Tempe and helped me to enjoy the place even more. I hope the restoration is complete before my next visit.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by observer53

Apparently there was a problem with the sprinkling system because of the way the dam was installed-- I don't recall whether Bridgestone or someone else is being blamed for that. I'm not "opposed" to building another type of dam that would serve the purpose, or a "fan" of the rubber dam concept; newcomers or nonresidents calling it "stupid" just don't know how it all came about.

I don't see Tempe having the money to do a different type for a long time, though, so the replacement dam better be installed so that the sprinklers will work and this one will last longer.

Building a dam to just hold back Tempe Town Lake is not a big deal. But building one that will handle the hydrodynamic forces of 250000 cubic feet per second of water coming over it in a major Salt flood is an expensive proposition. The rubber dam is a cost-effective solution. The accelerated failure experience may bend the cost curve a bit but I don't think it changes the overall economics.

Tempe has long range intentions of replacing the tubes with a more conventional structure as well as using reclaimed water. I would suspect these are even more long-range now with the economic downturn.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Building a dam to just hold back Tempe Town Lake is not a big deal. But building one that will handle the hydrodynamic forces of 250000 cubic feet per second of water coming over it in a major Salt flood is an expensive proposition. The rubber dam is a cost-effective solution. The accelerated failure experience may bend the cost curve a bit but I don't think it changes the overall economics.

Tempe has long range intentions of replacing the tubes with a more conventional structure as well as using reclaimed water. I would suspect these are even more long-range now with the economic downturn.

Exactly.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

Good riddance. A waste of precious water resources. Let it dry up and be done with it.

Typical naysayer/NIMBY type of kneejerk reaction. The lake had been in the planning stages for a number of years ... only to be delayed continuously because of all the naysayers, who apparently would rather see an ugly dry river bed full of garbage and homeless people than a beautiful lake.

Originally Posted by asufan

Someone that lives in Estrella with a huge artificial lake in the middle of the desert, 10 miles from any other development, is complaining about the waste of natural resources at Tempe Town Lake? LOL

HA HA! Good one!
()

Originally Posted by Java Jolt

Why oh why would a rubber dam even be installed, didn't anyone with half a brain realize all the heat here would wear it down and cause it to burst?

They said the rubber dams were going to be replaced anyway this year. Why did they wait so long, and why replace fragile rubber with more fragile rubber?

The engineers in charge of this fiasco obviously aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.

That was my complaint as well. The reports concluded that the city of Tempe was supposed to keep the rubber moist and cool, but they were obviously careless and allowed the collapse to happen. The lake was always a good idea (although I would have preferred it be funded through private investment instead of taxpayer money) ... it's just that when negligence happens, catastrophe is often the result.

On that same note, recall if you will some of the disasters that have happened here in recent years: the gas line rupture, the transformer fires, and now the dam collapse. What time of the year did all these things happen? Summer! Just goes to prove that the heat is good for nothing except to fry brains, which in turn contributes to why these events have taken place. It's all about taking precautions and making sure things are "heat safe". Obviously, in the above mentioned cases, carelessness occurred, and many people were severely inconvenienced.

[landbox]

Its (coming) back!
Tempe Town Lake refilling is under way today

Tempe Town Lake refilling is under way today

[slackjaw]

Just in time for the Autumn trout stocking!