By Jay Taylor | InMaricopa
The proposed PHX Surf Park will be a tourist attraction, economic development engine and attention-getter for Maricopa.
With two 5-acre surf lagoons, a lazy river, water slides and swimming pools, it is certain to draw hordes of residents and visitors alike to cool off in the desert heat.
But in the middle of a decades-long drought in the Southwest that has led to unprecedented federal water cuts and forced Pinal County farmers to leave some fields fallow, many have expressed concern about the amount of water the park will use.
When InMaricopa reported on the surf park plan in May 2021, some readers raised doubts on Facebook about the wisdom of building a water park in the desert during a severe drought.