The city of Phoenix in Arizona sits in the middle of a desert that for the past 11 years has been suffering a punishing drought. Temperatures in the city rose above 43C (110F) for a record 30 days this year and water levels in the rivers that supply its 1.5 million people with drinking water are at near-record lows.
A perfect spot then to build what is described as a "year-round watersports paradise", in which visitors will be able to revel in whatever watery pastime takes their fancy.
Scuba diving? No problem. White water rafting? Step this way to the largest man-made white water channel in the world. Surfing your thing? Then come barrel under perfect 12ft waves.
The businessmen behind Waveyard say they plan to recreate the seascape of Indonesia or Hawaii in an area that has just eight inches of rainfall a year. They have earmarked a site about 15 miles outside Phoenix on 125 acres of land that normally supports nothing but saguaro cacti and creosote bushes and that is 200 miles from the nearest beach.
Jerry Hug, one of the brains behind the project, summed up its simple concept. Watersports such as snorkeling, canoeing and boogie-boarding have "traditionally been delivered in the back country in nature's environment. We are bringing that into an urban environment."
To relocate nature's environment into the city will require an initial 189m litres of water to fill the facilities, and then up to 380m litres a year to replenish them allowing for spillage and evaporation. The developers think the cost in water will be more than compensated for by the attraction of what they call the "lost coast", which will provide the ultimate day at the beach.
Its publicity reads: "Lie on our white sand, rent a beach chair, ride a boogie board, build a massive sand castle. The Lost Coast will deliver the beach, the waves and the coastal lifestyle."
Residents in the nearest town of Mesa voted earlier this month by two to one to support the project, won over by promises of 7,500 new jobs. Opposition to the proposals in the area has been muted.
But the long-term wisdom of creating a massive waterpark in the middle of a desert may yet be doubted. Last year Arizona had a record dry winter. Snowpacks on its mountain ranges - essential once they melt for replenishing the state's sophisticated system of underground reservoirs - were unusually thin.
The current report for Arizona shows more than half the state, including the Phoenix area, in the moderate to extreme drought zone.
Rita Maguire, a water expert who has advised Waveyard on water supplies for the development, told Associated Press that she had come round to the idea. "Initially, the reaction is: 'Oh my. Is this an appropriate use of water in a desert'? But recreation is a very important part of a community."
She added that the project would not use more water than a golf course, which sounds reassuring, until you learn that the Arizonan desert is already pockmarked with 402 golf courses.