Tempe Town Lake
| Tempe Town Lake | |
|---|---|
Panoramic photo
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| Location |
Tempe, Arizona, United States |
| Coordinates | 33°25′56″N 111°55′55″W / 33.43222°N 111.93194°WCoordinates: 33°25′56″N 111°55′55″W / 33.43222°N 111.93194°W |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Central Arizona Project (CAP) Water |
| Primary outflows | evaporation |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Built | August 8, 1997 |
| First flooded | June 2, 1999 |
| Max. length | 2 mi (3.2 km) |
| Max. width | 1,200 ft (370 m) |
| Surface area | 224 acres (0.91 km2) |
| Average depth | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Max. depth | 19 ft (5.8 m) |
| Water volume | 977 million US gallons (3,700,000 m3) |
| Surface elevation | 1,150 ft (350 m) |
| Settlements | Tempe |
Tempe Town Lake is a reservoir that occupies a portion of the dry riverbed of the Salt River as it passes through the city of Tempe, Arizona just north of Tempe Butte.
On July 20, 2010, a portion of the west side of the dam that contained the water in the lake collapsed sending a flood of water into the Salt River bed which drained the lake.
In March 1989, Tempe adopted the Rio Salado Master Plan which represented the culmination of more than 20 years of environmental land planning. Studies of water quality and usage, the Mill Avenue Bridges and ASU recreation ensued and programming began. A groundbreaking ceremony near Tempe Beach Park marked the beginning of construction of the river channelization. The Rio Salado Master Plan showed a Town Lake concept with a continuous body of water between the north and south shores. Previously, the lake concept included islands; this concept was modified to meet the flow capacity of the river channel.
In 1995, the City added more staff to the team dedicated to the Rio Salado project and began construction of a mile long bike path along the south bank of the river. The path features public art at a number of spots along the way. The city began the Town Lake design report and completed another financial capacity study and landscape designs for portions of the parks. The next year, the consultant completed construction drawings for the Tempe Town Lake and the City designated 800 acres (3.2 km2) of area including the lake as Rio Salado Park. On March 19, 1997, requests for bids were sent out for the lake construction. The city awarded contacts for construction of the lake on June 12, and groundbreaking ceremonies were held on August 8.
Water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP) started flowing into Tempe Town Lake on June 2, 1999, and by July 14, the lake was declared full. On November 7, Tempe Town Lake was opened to the public.
Originally built in 1931, Tempe Beach Park was completely renovated in 1999 as part of the construction of Town Lake. The park connects to the five miles (8.0 km) of paths for bicycling, jogging or in-line skating that circle Town Lake.
The historic baseball field plays host to baseball and softball games, as well as carnival games.
In 2002, the $1.3 million Splash Playground was opened in Tempe Beach Park. The one-acre (4,000 m2) playground is both a way for kids to have fun in the water, and to learn about the water cycle. Only about two inches of water will pool in parts of the park. The water is kept flowing across the playground, where it is eventually collected, filtered, cleaned, and re-circulated in a state-of-the-art system.
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Wikipedia