Blackbeard's to close water slide during the week

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Summer is going to look a lot different at some Valley amusement centers as the drought is drying up some main attractions. It's an unprecedented move by Blackbeard's entertainment center, who will soon close the slides during the week.

For the past 31 years water has flowed carrying countless kids down these slides countless times.

Blackbeards general manager Joe Simmons says it's a "first" for the company and it wasn't an easy choice. But closing the slides Monday through Friday seemed like the right and necessary thing to do. "Obviously water is a big concern, everyone needs to do major cutbacks, we're trying to do our part, trying to conserve as much as we can and this is one of the ways we're doing it in."

For now, they're accommodating school groups, keeping the slides open for the organizations that have already booked end of the year outings. 10-year-old Brianna Guizar couldn't be happier. In fact she's convinced her family to bring her back in the next few weeks. But dad Jesse says he'll have to slowly interest her in the other main attractions. "That's a good thing that they're going to be saving water with the drought we need it but it's just rough and you see other places how they're using water and we can't take advantage of that."

Management here says the move will save thousands upon thousands of gallons of precious water and in the meantime they're doing other things to conserve. "Letting our filters build up, the water is a holding pond which we call the duck pond, we recycle that water, hook it up to a sprinkler system, we're pumping that water and that's what's keeping our grass green right now."

Making their sacrifice and doing their part, one drop and one ride at a time. The slides will be shut off in about two weeks. Basically as soon as school is out for the summer once the school groups finish out their end of the year parties at Blackbeards.