Tempe Town Lake closes to boats for day until Salt River runoff debris ends

PHOENIX — River debris flowing downhill with a runoff release from northern Arizona caused officials in Tempe to temporarily close the popular Town Lake to boaters.

The shutdown lasted for a day. The lake was scheduled to reopen to water activities Thursday at 4 p.m.

Debris was coming from the Salt River Project’s low-level runoff release that began in mid-February at two reservoirs on the Verde River. The flow into the Salt River has recently been pouring over the lake’s dam.

Town Lake is closed to boating and fishing because of debris from upper Salt River flows.Parks are still open. https://t.co/LGDyUxDVdY pic.twitter.com/RCnTWYAWeU

— City of Tempe, AZ (@Tempegov) March 1, 2017

“Our dam is working as intended. We have great, dedicated staff at the City of Tempe and they pulled together to get Tempe Town Lake reopened as soon as safely possible,” Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell said in a statement.

The Desert Sprints Regatta were set for Saturday.

City spokeswoman Kris Baxter-Ging had said in a statement that the lake, which gets its water from the Salt River, would be closed to water activities, including fishing, for as long the material was coming down. The park’s grounds remained open.

An unusual sight. Water over the @Tempegov dam. #saltriver @SRPconnect @ASUgreen @AMWUA pic.twitter.com/cm45ki5sfw

— DCDC at ASU (@DCDC_ASU) March 1, 2017

Wandered across this rare sight earlier tonight #saltriver #tempetownlake pic.twitter.com/YKxGtuKdUt

— Matt Kuebler ™ (@MattKuebler_) March 2, 2017

Spillover from the runoff will make its way into the Salt River. Some of it pooled in a Mesa street near Loop 202 and Alma School Road last month, shutting down traffic in the area.

The Salt River Project has been releasing water from Bartlett and Horseshoe lakes, ahead of expected rainfall. Snow melt had pushed Bartlett to 82 percent capacity; Horseshoe was 94 percent full.

The lake will reopen to water recreation when the flow of debris ends.

SRP said in a statement that it anticipated this year’s runoff from winter storms to be more than 1 million acre-feet.

Last year, the runoff was well below the median at 338,181 acre-feet.

Related

Gilbert ranks No. 5 among most affordable U.S. cities for grocery shoppingAPS customers to receive $14.70 bill credit in NovemberSAFE Alert canceled after 73-year-old man found safelyHobbs creates committee focused on bringing U.S. Space Academy to ArizonaThe Original Tavern opening in North Phoenix in 2027Tempe Police Department introduces new K9 named Cash