It has come to my attention that you have listed “Camelbaks/hydration paks (even if empty)” as prohibited items for attendees to bring into Electric Zoo Festival grounds this year.

I find this particularly troubling since many of your guests, including me rely on them to maintain ourselves hydrated at large summer festivals. I am aware that there will be water available for purchase at the venue but for many, buying many small bottles of water is a burden, financially and logistically, for a festival as large (and as expensive) Electric Zoo. As the temperature is forecasted to be in the mid- to high-80’s this Labor Day Weekend, your decision to ban hydration packs will consequently put your attendees directly at risk for hyperthermia, dehydration, and heat exhaustion.

I understand that in the end, Electric Zoo, like all festivals, is a business and that all businesses rely on the bottom line. But this is an issue of public health, common sense, and for your organization, one of legal liability. It should not even be a question to allow something that fulfills a necessity as basic as having free and sufficient access to water, especially in light of the 2013 deaths of Olivia Rotondo and Jeffrey Russ.

So please, I urge you to reconsider your decision to disallow Camelbaks and other hydration packs.

Thank you for your attention regarding this urgent matter.