Local advocacy groups have raised concerns about the wave park proposed for La Quinta due to the water intensive nature of the project, calling it a poor choice for a desert climate.
“It’s the wrong project in the wrong location at the wrong time. It doesn’t belong at Coral Mountain. It doesn’t really belong anywhere in the desert,” Alena Callimanis, a member of La Quinta Residents for Responsible Development, said.
At an upcoming meeting, the La Quinta Planning Commission is expected to discuss a project proposal to construct a new wave park at Coral Mountain, NBC Palm Springs reports. Developers propose to utilize the same shallow well water used by nearby golf courses and imported water from the Colorado River, according to the NBC article.
The water intensive nature of this project is the major concern expressed by local advocacy groups, who consider the plans inappropriate for a desert site. According to NBC Palm Springs, the Colorado River is the United States’ most endangered river, and filling the wave basin would require approximately 18 million gallons of water.
Beyond filling the wave park, evaporation will be another strain on water resources, opponents say. In the NBC article, educator and biochemist Rob Hedges says that according to his calculations, the wave park will use an excess of 250,000 gallons of water per day due to evaporation.
Hedges further expressed concern over energy usage, in particular, that required to keep the water cool in a hot desert climate. He calculated that the park may spend $100,000 a day to keep the water at 82 degrees, a cost he expects will doom it to financial failure.
