The Brief
- Tempe Town Lake remains closed due to water quality issues, including E. coli, after record upstream flooding.
- Boating, fishing, and boat rentals are suspended until further notice, though shoreline activities like walking and biking continue.
- Officials warn people and pets to stay out of the lake while floodwaters clear and bacteria levels decline.
TEMPE, Ariz. – Tempe Town Lake remains closed after record upstream flooding caused water quality problems.
What they’re saying:
“Salt River Project (SRP) said the flood is the biggest on the Salt and Verde rivers since 1993, before Tempe Town Lake was built. Recent inflows are the highest on record on the Salt and Verde watershed, about eight times greater than average. The water has downed full-sized trees, sent abandoned boats over the dam, and eroded several feet of sand from Town Lake’s Boat Beach,” the city said in a Nov. 6 news release. “This level of flooding also brings with it water quality issues, including e-coli.”…