Surf Park Neighborhood In California Desert
Surf Park Plans in SE California Desert During Drought Restrictions Proves There Is Plenty of Water For the Wealthy Elite But Artificial Scarcity For Others
Written by Elaine Buxton
As reported by Ian James at the LA Times on Sept 19, 2022, developers in La Quinta, California have plans to build a resort and housing neighborhood, complete with a lake and surfing lagoon, in the southeastern desert, at the same time farmers and residents throughout the state are having water rights either totally cut off or severely restricted. The proposal has drawn outrage, but is consistent with the false water scarcity that I have been writing about for the past two months. This is another striking example of inequitable access to water resources, called “mind-boggling” and “irresponsible” by those who have not previously noted the overt greed, lies and excesses of powerful, controlling special interest organizations in the United States. Hopefully this proposal is a wakeup call to the many who have not been paying enough attention to the motives of those who control and manipulate natural resources.
Here is the opening excerpt from LA Times:
LA QUINTA, Calif. — In a part of the Coachella Valley where exclusive neighborhoods wrap around lush golf courses and ponds, a stretch of open desert could be transformed into a new sort of artificial oasis.
A developer has plans for hundreds of homes and a resort featuring a surfing lagoon. If La Quinta’s City Council endorses the proposal, the sandy ground at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains would become the site of a 12-acre pool where surfers could take off on sculpted lines of peeling waves.
A group of residents has organized to fight the proposed wave pool, and one of their primary concerns is water. They argue that, with the Colorado River in a shortage and the Southwest getting hotter and drier with climate change, the area can’t afford to have millions of gallons of precious water filling the giant water feature.
“It’s mind-boggling,” said Alena Callimanis, a resident. “You just can’t do a surf park in the middle of the desert, and here, with our drought conditions. It’s just crazy.”
The 386-acre project would include 600 homes and a 12-acre pool for surfing. There are about 120 golf courses in the Coachella Valley, either taking water pumped from underground aquifers or imported from the Colorado River. The Imperial Irrigation, Palo Verde Irrigation and Yuma Project water districts receive 3.85 MAF of the 4.4 MAF of Colorado River water allocated to California annually. Metropolitan Water District has been purchasing water rights from farmers in those valleys to fallow their land due to water curtailments. Clearly, the water is then diverted to exclusive playground developments like the one described instead of needed food production.
More excerpts:
The area’s many lush, grass-filled developments have contributed to some of the highest residential per capita water use rates in the state. For decades, the valley’s resort aesthetic has featured cascading waterfalls, swimming pools and lakes where residents can water-ski or moor their boats at private docks. The 18-million-gallon surf park in La Quinta is one of at least five wave pools or lagoons that are planned here.
The developer of the 386-acre Coral Mountain project is requesting a zoning change for what was once slated to be a residential development with a golf course. Instead, they now want to build the wave park along with 600 homes and a hotel with up to 150 rooms. La Quinta’s City Council is expected to vote on the proposed zoning change at a public hearing Wednesday. (9/15/22) The oblong wave basin, dubbed the Wave, would stretch almost half a mile, with water covering just over 12 acres. It would generate waves up to 6 feet high.
The wave basin’s annual water use is estimated at 26 million gallons, including water that would need to be pumped to make up for evaporation, Gamlin said. Opponents have disputed that estimate, arguing that with crashing waves and heat, evaporation would require significantly more water. Gamlin said a single golf course in the desert consumes much more, with some using as much as 1 million gallons a day.
Not all residents have equal access to Colorado River water in Coachella Valley, however, which apparently is in a different water source for residents not in the elite neighborhoods.
Colorado River water is also available from the Coachella branch of the All-American Canal, he said, and could be used to irrigate common areas and possibly front yards. Near the property, Colorado River water is routed to ponds at a groundwater replenishment facility, recharging the aquifer.
Thomas E. Levy, an engineer and former general manager of Coachella Valley Water District, wrote on behalf of the developer saying water cutbacks planned along the Colorado River will not significantly affect the district’s ability to “deliver potable water” in the area.
The developer has also offered to contribute money for lawn-removal rebates in La Quinta, matching the water district’s existing rebate of $3 per square foot of grass removed. Gamlin said the water conserved with those incentives would more than make up for the water that would be pumped for the wave basin.
Callimanis and other opponents are not convinced. They say homeowners should be taking out grass, and golf courses should be reducing their water footprint too, but it shouldn’t be done to help a developer fill a wave pool. Callimanis pointed out that the water district has started charging drought penalties on water bills when residents fail to reduce outdoor water use 10% below their budget.
“How can you say you have enough water for surf parks and lagoons? Yet you are penalizing us if we don’t drop beyond 10% of our current outdoor usage,” Callimanis said. “There’s a huge disconnect, and the community is up in arms.”
A nearby development with a larger 20-acre surf lagoon, Thermal Beach Club, has already been approved by Riverside County supervisors. In Rancho Mirage, construction has begun at Disney’s Cotino development, which will include a 24-acre lagoon, this one without waves. Two other wave pools are in the works in Palm Desert and Palm Springs.
For my readers of this article, please share your comments on water equity and scarcity in California. As I have written in other articles, available here and at www.prepareforchange.net, there is significant evidence that there are far more water sources and reserves than explained by the low water level in Lake Mead. Water issues are more than just quantity: drinking water quality, equality, pollution, conservation efforts, agriculture, forestry and ecosystem restoration all need to be considered as vital for our future health. Coachella Valley exclusive neighborhood developments, as in other parts of California, Nevada and Arizona, are not sharing in the manipulated scarcity imposed on ordinary folks. As CA State Senator Hurtado described in her letter to US Attorney General Garland on August 24th, manipulation and profiteering of water resources needs to be investigated and stopped.