Tempe Town Swamp

Once upon a time, Tempe (AKA Berkeley on the river Salt) had a lake. Well actually they didn't have a lake but they really really wanted one. So they installed inflatable rubber dams on a two mile section of the Salt River where it flowed through Tempe and decreed it a lake. It is seen here as the backdrop of a Tea Party event a while back.

The politicians crowed the inflatable dams would last 25 years or so. But the fine print showed the manufacturer wouldn't warranty them for even 10 years. So here it is ~10 years later and here is the "lake" today. (Click on the image to reveal the full panoramic splendor of the "lake" (now swamp).

And here is why:
One of the inflatable dams failed allowing the billion give-or-take gallons contained in the lake to follow the gravitationally directed path down river.

heh... I'm just glad I hadn't purchased the annual permit for the Royal SandCastle Yacht. (Seen here in an outing on the "lake" last year)