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The Brief

• Water fountains in La Crosse remain shut down because they don’t meet ADA compliance standards during a period of extreme heat

• Two city council resolutions will address the issue in coming weeks – one to install new ADA-compliant fountains, another to delay removal of historic bubblers

• The city’s engineering department says the fountains will stay off indefinitely as the only way to maintain ADA compliance

LA CROSSE (WKBT) — Western Wisconsin is seeing a stretch of high heat and a lack of operational water fountains in La Crosse is causing concern.

“When we have this extreme heat, whether it is someone walking the dog or somebody jogging or whatever, it’s just nice to have,” said Common Councilmember Gary Padesky (District 7).

He added that the bubblers are extra helpful to the city’s unhoused community, who otherwise might not have easy access to clean drinking water. 

The bubblers have been turned off this year because they aren’t ADA-compliant.

Two resolutions addressing the problem will be considered in the next few weeks.

The first would install ADA-compliant drinking fountains across the city. La Crosse Mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey sponsored that legislation.

The second would delay any removal of the historic green bubblers. Council members Chris Kahlow (District 6) and Padesky are behind the resolution.

“We just want to make sure that we have a year to talk about this,” Padesky said. “Long-term I would like to see, even if we put in new bubblers next to them that are ADA compliant, leave the old ones with a plaque in the ground explaining the history of bubblers in the state of Wisconsin and the city.”

Padesky and Kahlow are brainstorming ideas for the historic bubblers. He’s interested in having local artists or school districts paint them.

In a statement, the city’s engineering department said there’s no plan to remove the bubblers.

However, they also wrote that the bubblers “will just remain off indefinitely, as that is the only way to have ADA compliance.”

Padesky thinks it’s better to risk it though, and turn the bubblers back on.

“Unless somebody threatens to sue us, my opinion, let’s get them up and running and cool people off.”

The two resolutions will be considered next Tuesday, August 5 at the city’s Judiciary & Administration committee.

Should La Crosse’s ‘green bubblers’ stay on even though they are not ADA compliant?

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​COPYRIGHT 2025 BY NEWS 8 NOW/NEWS 8000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.