TL;DR
Draper City Council approved an 8.8-acre surf park as part of the Veranda West development on June 9.
The surf lagoon will use 6 to 9 million gallons of water a year, far less than the apartments or offices the land was already zoned for.
The site is planned as a national training center for U.S. Olympic surf teams, with construction set to start this fall and a 2028 opening.
What we know
Veranda West sits north of Bangerter Highway near 600 West in Draper. The project already includes more than 100 built townhomes, and the new plan adds nearly 300 apartments, a retail and dining village, and the surf park, according to KSL.
The pool uses a closed-loop system. It gets filled once, then only adds water to cover evaporation and splash-out going forward, KUTV reports.
Draper City Council member Tasha Doyle Lowery wrote on Facebook that the change actually lowers density on the site, from 29 units per acre to 26. The land was already entitled for high-density apartments before this amendment.
The facility will be open to the public and to high school surf teams, not just Olympic athletes. There's a public viewing deck with food and drinks for non-surfers.
Construction starts this fall. The Wasatch Group is targeting a 2028 opening, per KSL.
What they're saying
Draper Mayor Troy Walker, on the water use, told KUTV: "It's like 6 million to 9 million gallons a year versus 30 million in an apartment building or 100 million in an office building."
Resident Jim Hunsaker, pushing back, told KUTV: "People need water to drink, just to live, sanitation. Those are priorities for me versus a water park."
Council member Tasha Doyle Lowery, in a Facebook post explaining her vote: The original high-density plan for the site would have used "over 4X the water PER YEAR than this smaller surf park will require for a single filling."
What's next
The surf park still needs to clear standard building permits before construction starts this fall. The Wasatch Group says the facility will double as a U.S. Olympic training site for men's and women's surf teams once it opens in 2028, according to KSL.
