Drought Kills Giant Slip-and-Slide Planned for Downtown

Los Angeles city officials said today they denied an application to put a giant water slide in downtown Los Angeles due to concerns water would be wasted amid a drought.

The Slide the City event was set for Sept. 28. It would have allowed participants who purchased tickets to splash down a three-block slip-and-slide along Temple Street, between Los Angeles Street and Broadway.

The city denied the application after the Department of Water and Power expressed concerns that the event was “not consistent with the seriousness of the statewide drought,” Public Works spokesman Paul Gomez said.

The event organizers proposed reclaiming water from the event for irrigation use at Griffith Park, but Recreation and Parks officials were concerned there would be chlorine in the water, Gomez said.

Announcement of the event earlier this summer prompted petitions to be circulated telling the city not to approve the event because of the drought.

The organizers, Slide the City LLC, put out an email saying their event has been postponed.

“After tireless working with the city over the past two months, we received word that our permit is being denied,” it said. The statement goes on to apologize to those who bought tickets to the sold-out event. They offered a refund, but said ticket holders would have a “secure” place at a future event.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.