The Tempe Town Lake dam was designed to last for 25 to 30 years, said the experts. A rubber structure, Tempe Town Lake dam created a beautiful natural landmark for the city of Tempe, Arizona. According to Associated Press reports, nevertheless, one of the 11-year-old dam segments burst. Thanks to the blowout, Tempe Town Lake will lose thousands of gallons of water (as much as three-quarters of the man-made lake) to the dry bed of the Salt River, where the homeless tend to live during the summer.
Injury wire quiet on Tempe Town Lake
No injuries of property damage at Tempe Town Lake has been reported as yet, according to local media sources. Area residents said they heard a loud “ka-boom” and felt the ground shake near Arizona State University. Not long following the rumble, animals broke into a run out of there. After several minutes, safety alarms began to sound. It is unclear at this time if homeless persons within the Salt River bed heard the warning or not.
Tempe Town Lake holds one billion gallons
Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman told the media that is the water flow facing engineers. As far back as 2007, experts reportedly knew that the Arizona climate was wreaking havoc with the structural integrity of the rubber dam. Yet repair action was not taken at that time. By spring 2009, engineers told Tempe that Town Lake dam was in need of immediate repair, but the city did nothing.
And the homeless masses?
Officials know the alarm sounded, but they do not know if the blowout at Tempe Town Lake dam impacted any homeless persons in the dry riverbed. This could all just be mechanical failure and bureaucratic inaction. But if the fiscal angle is taken through the lens of the cost of homelessness, other possibilities emerge. A wide array of experts have founded studies that show the U.S. shells out nearly $ 11 billion annually to address chronic homelessness. Forbes reports that that figure would descend to a more manageable $ 7.88 billion if the homeless were given permanent homes.
Live in low-cost housing before the waters rise
In Maricopa County, where Tempe is located, AZCentral.com reports that you will find approximately 8,000 homeless individuals on any given day. If these disadvantaged individuals all of a sudden had residency, taxpayer funds would be saved and Maricopa County would cut their emergency resource expenditures nearly in half. If the Tempe Town Lake dam incident moves more homeless individuals into permanent housing, something truly optimistic will result from this minor civic disaster.
Sources
philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation/20100721_ap_rubberizeddambreaksatmanmadearizonalake.html
azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/2010/06/11/20100611tempe-homeless-outreach-united-way.html
forbes.com/2006/08/25/us-homeless-aid-cx_np_0828oxford.html
