Slide the City ran successful slip n’ slides through Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah. The organization worked to pull off another 1000 foot slip n’ slide through Downtown Los Angeles, but a week before the sold-out event, the city denied their permit.
“We have been working even harder over the past few days to resolve any issues the City may have but it appears there is no resolution,” Slide the City wrote on its Facebook page.
The Los Angeles Department of Public Works confirmed the permits denial, according to the Los Angeles Times. The department did not elaborate on its reasoning, but the event has received backlash for its wasteful use of water.
Concerned citizens launched a petition last month to stop the city from allowing the giant water slide during the drought. The petition nearly reached its goal of 11,000 signatures before the city made it moot.
The water crisis has gripped the entire state of California and much of the American Southwest. The chance of a 10-year, megadrought increased to 80 percent in late August, according to a study by Cornell University, the University of Arizona and the U.S. Geological Survey.
The three-block long slide would have used 15,000 to 20,000 gallons of water, according to Slide the City president T. R. Gourley. The water supply would have been recycled, treated with pool chemicals and disposed of properly after the event.
The group proposed to truck the water to a reclamation plant where it could irrigate Griffith Park in downtown L.A., according to the LA Times. Organizers also planned to donate a portion of their profits to the water charity Generosity.org.
Slide the City is still working to continue the event at a later date. It even suggested on its Facebook page a partnership with K-Y Jelly and Vaseline to save the event. Ticket holders can hold onto their purchased passes for a future date or they can seek a refund now.
The group has plans to hold similar events in 33 states plus eight more in Canada, according to its website. No dates have been announced yet for these additional locations including four other California cities.
