TEMPE — Though the rain is gone for now, the recent storms and the snow runoff brought a lot of water and flooding to the Valley, causing a ripple effect for events in the community.
The City of Tempe closed down Tempe Town Lake on Thursday, saying that SRP increased the amount of water being released from the reservoirs upstream and that the lake was unsafe for people to be in it.
Because of that, the Arizona Dragon Boat Festival had to postpone its event, which was supposed to take place all weekend. The festival brings in thousands of people from all over the country and internationally. Organizers said they had more than 60 teams competing and each team has more than 20 members.
Nathan Salazar, the coach of LA County Dragon Boat Club said they received the notice on Thursday that the event was postponed. He planned to bring more than 80 paddlers to Tempe, however, some still came since they couldn’t cancel hotel stays or for other reasons.
“It’s a little heartbreaking, but it is what it is. It’s something we can’t avoid. Mother Nature decided to happen,” he said, adding that he understood why the festival needed to be postponed.
Anne Bennie and her team flew from Canada for day camps and the festival. They arrived on St. Patrick’s Day and have been on the water over the week through a camp. Bennie told ABC15 she did see a difference in the lake in the last few days as storms moved through.
“When we were first here, it wasn’t too bad. I have to say Thursday, there was a lot of debris,” she said.
While many wait to see when the Arizona Dragon Boat Festival will be rescheduled, some who came here for it made the most out of their trip and plan to come back when the new dates are announced. Bennie said it wouldn’t happen for her, since she’s out of the country, but she said she’ll come back next year
Nathan Rocha, who’s part of the LA County Dragon Boat Club, said he’d be happy to come back, understanding why the festival needed to be postponed.
“I’ll definitely come back or next time we have the race here. It’s fun. Hang out with friends after the race, practice with them before and get to spend more time with them,” Rocha said.
The City of Tempe says staff continues to check the lake daily to see if it is safe enough to reopen to the public. As of right now, there’s no set date.
