Waveyard in Mesa: What?

I voted against a crazy concept yesterday. The city of Mesa put a proposition on the ballot for a water park called Waveyard. Amazing. The city believes that by building the largest white-water river in the world, a scuba lagoon and a wave pool, the people of the world will flock to this desert. Most people who flock to this desert, are retired, elderly or they (tourists) don’t travel farther south than the Grand Canyon.

I live in the Sonora desert. Less than .04 inches of rain has fallen in October for the Phoenix valley (http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/). This area competes for water from Colorado, Utah, California and Nevada. Some people (the Navajos and other Indians on reservations) don't even have running water-they have to travel several miles to bring in a tank of water or reuse the water they currently have sitting on their porch.

So, here’s what the City of Mesa plans on doing with the park and their intentions of obtaining and using the water. The following information is obtained from the City of Mesa website: http://www.cityofmesa.org/citymgt/mesa-now/issues/waveyard.aspx

1. The source of water for Waveyard waterpark is a City well that is not hooked up to the City’s drinking water system. Waveyard will operate and maintain the well and will install a treatment process specifically for the treatment of the water from this well so that it is suitable for use at the facility.
2. Waveyard’s outdoor water use is expected to be less than that of an 18-hole golf course, and only slightly higher than the water use of the golf course and park that currently occupy the site.
3. The land where Waveyard is located is entitled to extensive water rights from the Salt River Project system. Mesa anticipates that it will have enough water to meet Waveyard’s needs, even in drought conditions. Mesa does not expect that water use at Waveyard would ever impact or limit the water use of other customers.

Usually, when a proposition for a new service is on the ballot, people either agree or agree to disagree. On this ballot, I agreed to disagree because having a water park in the desert seems like a crazy idea and a waste of a precious resource. Mesa, is the largest city in the valley and residents here don’t pay property tax. Although, they say that the money generated from this park will provide higher incomes for the fire and police department. I’m for higher incomes but at what price?