Architecture sophomore Trevor Kowal, who we interviewed for our Campus Sound Off section, cleverly named it “The Tempe Dust Bowl.” Very creative, Trevor. We’re sure other monikers are soon to follow.
Since no one was injured, we guess it’s OK to jest about the large smelly ditch once appropriately called the Tempe Town Lake.
On Tuesday evening, a rubber bladder making up part of the lake’s west dam exploded causing about 1 billion gallons of water to gush into a dry riverbed.
Unfortunately, President Barack Obama wasn’t available to give the order.
“Plug the dam hole!”
Tempe’s beautiful man-made lake, a site that has become a city symbol for the past 10 years, was reduced to a muddy terrain of dead fish and stagnant water pools. Not to mention, an unpleasant odor now permeates the surrounding air.
And like all good artificial disaster stories, a blame game has commenced.
Bridgestone Industrial Products, the dam manufacturing company, told city authorities to keep the bladders cool in the Valley heat, either by using a sprinkler system or lake overflow.
Don Darden, a company spokesman, told The State Press in an e-mail that Bridgestone installed a spray system that was to be managed by the city.
Tempe Councilwoman Onnie Shekerjian fired back in an Arizona Republic article saying the sprinklers “didn’t work the way they were supposed to.” And Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman added that design mistakes made use of the sprinkler system impossible.
No matter whose fault it is, one fact remains: Tempe Town Lake is now gone.
But don’t fill up the dust bowl with those streaming tears just yet. According to Hallman, Tempe’s glassy lake should be looking fully full by this November.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Tempe spokesman Kris Baxter-Ging said the effects on the city’s economy are not certain yet.
With football season coming soon, we don’t think the city has much to worry about.
In addition, with or without a lake, thousands of students will rejuvenate the city’s atmosphere—and economy— once the fall semester begins.
Today, the heart of Tempe is ASU, not some lake that gives us pretty scenery. We don’t even think city officials, some of them ASU graduates, could argue with that.
The future of the city depends on the University. Many out-of-state or out-of-city students may decide to stay in Tempe, contributing to its workforce and benefitting the economy.
Now, before we give ourselves a big pat on the back and defend our bragging rights, we would like to mention that while the University plays a vital role in the city’s future, it was water—that which flowed in a now-empty lakebed—that gave the city life.
Settlers moved into the Valley area during the 1860s and 1870s and used water from the Salt River to irrigate their farms, according to the city’s website. Soon, a large community was formed in the area where the University now sits, and it was officially named Tempe in 1879. In 1885, the early version of ASU, the Territorial Normal School, was established by the Arizona Legislature. All this took place more than 20 years before Arizona became a state.
Water might be the key that started the city’s engine, but ASU is the fuel that keeps the engine running.
