Mesquite celebrates Earth Day with hydration stations

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

The City of Mesquite observed Earth Day by celebrating clean water last week. On Monday, April 22, city officials and local residents gathered on the West Field at the Mesquite Rec Center for a ribbon cutting for the opening eleven new hydration stations placed in various places along trails and in parks.

Opening remarks were made by Mesquite mayor Al Litman. Litman gave much of the credit for the stations to city councilwoman Karen Fielding. “This was her idea and she followed through with it,” Litman said of Fielding.

Fielding told the crowd that she had gotten the idea from a visit to Springdale, Utah where she saw similar water filling stations.
“I came home and called up (Mesquite Parks Manager) Randy Laub, and asked if we could do this,” Fielding said.

The two presented the idea to Nick Montoya, Director of the Mesquite Dept. of Leisure and Athletic Services. He liked the idea, Fielding said.
“We started looking for funding; then COVID hit,” Fielding explained.

Fielding related that in February of 2023, after things had settled, she went to the city manager and asked about the water station project.
“I gave him all of my previous research data showing how we can save on the use of plastic by using refillable bottles and grant money we might get,” Fielding said. “Now here we are on Earth Day 2024 with eleven chilled hydrations stations for our trails and parks.”

Three of the stations are located at the Sports Event Center. Two more can be found at the Recreation Center concessions area. The Recreation Center is equipped with four. Others are stationed at City Hall, the Mesquite Senior Center. the Mesquite Justice Court, Old Mill Pickleball Courts, Old Mill Fields, Hafen Park, Veterans Park and Pulsipher Park.

All the stations provide water that has been filtered and chilled, with the exception of Pulsipher Park which is filtered but not chilled.

At the end of the event, attendees were invited to enjoy cookies and get a free water bottle to use at the stations.
The Virgin River Coalition was on hand passing out spring flower seeds.

Virgin Valley Disposal was also there informing the public on how to use the large recycling bins and how to handle hazardous waste.