Photo via Slide the City
Photo via Slide the City

If you were planning to get wet and wild in Seattle this summer on that giant waterslide down Mercer Street, you’re out of luck.

At least for 2015.

Slide the City, the organization putting on the massive waterslide event, was held up by the permit processes of the State and King County Health Departments.

The 1,000-foot-long slip’n’slide was scheduled to be on Mercer Aug. 16.

From the Slide the City email announcing the cancellation:

The Slide the City event has been cancelled due to the event organization. Despite months of hard work and coordination between event organizers and city officials, the State and King County Health Departments reported that they could not accommodate the event this year due to increased permit requests.

Events in Spokane and the Tri-Cities for 2015 are also cancelled. Apparently, there had been issues securing the permits for a while now, according to this piece by the Tri-City Herald, which reported that “health department had actually asked for information from Slide the City’s office in Orem, Utah, in February, and did not get a plan back until July 7.”

The health departments reportedly had questions about sanitization, water treatment and safety precautions for sliders.

While 2015 is a bust for the big waterslide adventure, Slide the City says it will be back for 2016 with events in Seattle, Spokane and the Tri-Cities, and attendees can expect a “bigger, better and wetter slide in 2016” as well as more local businesses getting involved in the event.

“All three cities have been great to work with, and I was disappointed when I realized the events had to be postponed,” said Rachel Thomas, event director for Slide the City, in the statement. “We really want the people of Washington to experience this unique and one-of-a-kind event! We’re excited to push forward and continue working with health departments for an unforgettable Slide the City next year.”

Here’s hoping they get it sorted for next year. Meanwhile, Slide the City says they are on pace to produce more than 100 slip-n-slide events in North America, with others planned globally.

For those wondering what happens for ticket holders, you shouldn’t sweat it. A Slide the City representative told us that they hadn’t even started selling tickets for the event yet.

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