Water restrictions won't rain on Pueblo West wet parade after metro district revives it
Following a three-year hiatus, Pueblo West’s beloved wet parade is set for a splashy return.
Despite the Pueblo West Metro District putting voluntary water restrictions in place, the parade is set to return after Nick Madero, a metro district board member, made a concerted effort to revive it.
While the details for the Fourth of July event are still in the planning stages, Madero said he envisions extra security, a possible limit on the amount of water used and a new name for the parade to honor to “the man who started it all.”
The Jack Fowler Memorial Fourth of July Wet Parade will pay homage to Pueblo West’s longtime volunteer fire department chief who inadvertently started the tradition in the 1990s. While riding on a pumper truck, Fowler decided to give a friendly spray of cooling water to a group of spectators struggling in the sweltering, nearly 100-degree heat.
The parade has since grown in popularity, so much so that it has been dubbed the largest wet parade west of the Mississippi River. The parade was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic concerns.
The district again canceled the parade in 2022, citing rapid growth and a drought that caused water shortages. After the hiatus, the traditional event will return this year following a “tight vote in the events committee,” Madero said, and a unanimous vote of approval Monday by the metro district board.
More on Pueblo West: Pueblo West's voluntary water restrictions to continue this year
“It took a lot of work to get this done — a lot of talking,” Madero told the Chieftain.
Safety concerns have also surrounded the parade in recent years after reports of some participants throwing frozen balloons, others reportedly adding chemicals to water they used in the water fight, and some coming to the parade armed with high-powered water cannons, all of which were credited with causing injuries to spectators and property damage.
“We will have a zero tolerance policy for any mischief during the wet parade. If people are hurtful and malicious it could go away," Madero said.
“We should appreciate what we have because this is what separates our community from other communities, by how much fun people have had enjoying the water parade."
“Frozen balloons will end it,” agreed Jami Baker Orr, metro board member. “If the community wants it they need to help patrol it and make it safe for all.”
“It's a good time for the kids and we need to all take it very seriously,”she said.
Past estimates by district water department staff have put attendance at around 18,000 people, so if each person uses 5 gallons of water, the total used during the Fourth of July event would amount to 56,252 toilet flushes. However, Baker Orr said the amount of water used “is not a huge amount.”
“Bring on the water, let’s have a water fight,” said Kim Swearingen, board president.
Even board member Joe Mahaney, who has long been an advocate for water conservation said, “I’ve always enjoyed the wet parade so yes, let’s have one.”
The district staff scheduled a meeting from 9-11 a.m. Friday at the metro offices at 356 McCulloch Blvd., so citizens can give input on the parade. Those who cannot attend are encouraged to fill out an events survey on the district’s website at pueblowestmetro.com.
Board to consider water, sewer rate increases
In other water-related business discussed at Monday's board meeting, the board scheduled a public hearing for 5 p.m. April 24 at SonRise Church, 421 E.Spaulding Ave., to accept public comment on proposed water and sewer rate increases.
The district proposes raising the readiness to serve fees by 94 cents per month for residential water users and $3.17 monthly for residential sewer customers. The fees help cover fixed costs the utility has to pay before the customer gets the water, such as pumping and treatment costs, said district utilities director Jim Blasing.
New residential customers could see an increase in the residential water resource fee and tap fee totaling a little more than $1,000. Those increases are designed to have new residents connecting to the system help pay for its expansion.
Baker Orr said the Desert Hawk Management Board met April 6 but did not settle on a plan to disburse $529,000 in combined profits over the past three years in light of the golf course's negative reserve balance, which includes $1.279 million owed to the Pueblo West Metro District for unpaid water bills. She said that discussion likely will happen at the board’s next meeting set for 2 p.m. June 21.
The board also voted unanimously to hire CPS HR Consulting of Littleton to oversee the process of recruiting a new district manager. The consulting firm will be paid $25,000 and expects to post the job May 2 and have the board select a new manager to start work by the end of August.
In other business, the board approved applying for three proposed trail expansion grants that could bring in $2.6 million in funding for district trails if approved by the Colorado Transportation Alternatives Program in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
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Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo West reinstates July Fourth wet parade despite water restrictions
