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Surveillance Video Shows Tempe Dam Collapse
Updated: Thursday, 22 Jul 2010, 5:43 PM MST
Published : Thursday, 22 Jul 2010, 5:43 PM MST
TEMPE - A surveillance camera along Tempe Town Lake captured the flash of the explosion as a rubber bladder burst Tuesday night, sending nearly a billion gallons of water rushing into the Salt River.
People started calling 911 right away.
911 caller: "The dam at Tempe Town lake just like blew up and now all the lake water is flowing into a reservoir!"
911 caller: "But dude, I mean there's a ton of water coming in. There was this huge boom, and then some more water -- I mean it's like a movie, it's pouring in there!"
It took less than a day for only a muddy swampy lakebottom and shallow water pools to remain. With all the heat and the humidity, there's a pungent stench in the air, and it's something people near the town lake will have to live with for the next four months.
Most of the lake's fish was swept downstream, but nearly all of the fish that remain will die, Arizona Game & Fish says. And the area is already starting to reek of decaying fish.
Some of the dead fish will be collected and donated to the Phoenix Herpetological Society to feed their reptiles. Also, the decaying fish smell is expected to attract large numbers of carrion birds.
The city of Tempe has hired a crew to go out and remove the dead fish, and to also treat pools of standing water with chemicals -- over concern about mosquitoes and West Nile virus.
The plan is to repair the rubber dams and fill the lake back up by November.
West Nile virus hotline: (602) 506-0700
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