Restroom units for storm and flood cleanup crews, placed on the highest firm ground the site allows and serviced on a set schedule.
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Storm and flood cleanup puts crews on sites where building plumbing may not be usable, and the units have to sit on ground that stays firm when it is wet. A technician picks the placement away from standing water, sets the service around the crew's shifts and keeps the truck's access clear. The price is explained and approved before work starts.
Central Ohio has rivers and creeks that drain a large area. The Scioto and the Olentangy meet downtown, Alum Creek, Big Walnut Creek and Blacklick Creek drain the east side, and Big Darby Creek on the west is a National Scenic River with a protected watershed. Cleanup work follows the water, and so do the crews. This page covers the restroom side of that work, which is planned placement and service on ground that has been wet, not a call-out for an emergency.
Wet ground is the main constraint. A unit set on soft, saturated soil can settle or lean, and a unit that leans is harder to use and harder to pump. Standing water at the base of a unit can reach the door and the access side, and a unit on a low spot can sit in it for days. Placement is chosen with that in mind, and the technician looks at the ground before the unit is set rather than after the first complaint.
The Franklinton floodwall is one local reason the ground in that part of the city is a site-by-site question. East Franklinton has large parcels that are being redeveloped, and cleanup work on those parcels starts from a site walk rather than a standard setup. The Franklinton area page covers that neighborhood, and the standard rental page covers the single-unit setup used on most cleanup lots.
Do not wade into standing floodwater to reach a unit, and do not use a unit that is leaning, cracked or sitting in water. Do not run a pump or a generator from inside a unit or a closed trailer. Electrical and gas hazards around flood debris should be cleared by the utility before anyone works near them, and the crew stays out of that area until it is confirmed safe.
The technician walks the site with the property owner or the cleanup lead before any unit is ordered. The walk covers where the work is, where the crew will stand, and where the water sat. Those three things decide where a unit can go, and they are written down with the date of the walk.
Standing water, soft fill and mud near a drain or a creek bank are the usual problems. A unit goes on the highest firm ground the site allows, at a distance from standing water and away from the bank of any creek or drain. Where no firm spot exists, the technician lays a gravel pad or a plate under the unit so it does not settle into the soil.
A unit is set level so that the door closes and the contents drain the way they should. On a slope the unit is blocked level before it is used, and the blocks are checked after the first heavy rain. A unit that rocks when the door is opened is not left in service until it has been reset.
The service truck needs a path and a place to pull up, and wet ground is where trucks get stuck. The path is cleared of debris and the stop point is checked before the unit goes down, so the first pump-out is not delayed by a truck that cannot reach the unit.
The unit is pumped on a schedule set to the crew's use and checked after heavy rain. A unit that has been under water, or whose base has been flooded, is inspected before it goes back into service, and it is replaced if the walls or the tank are damaged.
Yes, when the building does not have a working restroom for the crew, and the units serve the crew until the building's own plumbing is restored.
Storm and flood cleanup often means a building cannot be used for restrooms while it dries out, and the crew needs a toilet on site from the first shift. Portable units cover that gap. The count follows the crew, and where the work is construction work, the OSHA tiers for construction sites apply to the count and the washing facilities.
Units stay in place until the building's own plumbing is working and the site contact confirms it. A unit is not removed while the crew still needs it, and the removal date is written down with the site contact at the start of the job.
On the highest firm ground the site allows, away from standing water and creek banks, with a gravel pad or a plate where the soil is soft.
Wet soil can settle under a unit's weight, which makes the unit lean and drains the tank unevenly. Standing water at the base can reach the door and the vent. The technician chooses a spot on firmer ground, uses a gravel pad or a plate where the soil is soft, and checks the level before the crew uses the unit.
Creek banks and low corners of a lot are avoided, because the ground there can stay wet long after the rain has stopped. A spot that looks dry on the walk can be wet a few days later, so the placement is checked again after the first heavy rain.
On a schedule set to the crew's use, with an extra check after heavy rain. A busy crew fills a unit faster than a single household does.
A crew that works long shifts fills a unit faster than a household does, so the schedule is counted in crew-days rather than in months. After heavy rain the technician checks the unit's base, the vent and the door, and confirms the access path is still firm enough for the truck. The interval is written down with the site contact.
A unit that has been under water is inspected before it goes back into use, and replaced if the walls or the tank are damaged. The inspection date is recorded, and the next pump-out is set from it.
Accessible units follow the same federal guidance as any public-use cluster, and the construction-site exemption covers units used only by construction personnel.
Federal guidance quoted by the Justice Department and the Access Board sets at least 5 percent of clustered single-user units as accessible for public use, and never fewer than one per cluster. The construction exemption covers portable toilets used only by construction personnel, so a crew-only cleanup site may fall under it. A cleanup site where residents or volunteers also use the units may fall outside that exemption, so the count should be settled with the owner.
The guidance is federal, not a Columbus rule, and the Justice Department letter it quotes is not a binding legal interpretation. The placement walk notes which units are public-use, so the accessible unit is placed on a level, reachable approach before it is needed.
The price is explained and approved before work starts, and it depends on the scope of the site and the service it needs.
Size of the site, how many units the crew needs, how long they stay, how often they are pumped, how far the truck travels, how much ground preparation the placement needs and whether units must be accessible all move the quote. Access is a large factor on a flooded lot, since a truck that cannot reach a unit adds a visit to the plan.
No figure is published on this page. The local provider quotes the job after the site walk, and the quote is explained before any work starts. Ask for the ground preparation and any extra visits to be listed separately, so the cost is clear.
A single property with the house out of use needs one or two units for the crew, placed on the driveway or the firmest part of the lawn. The placement is kept away from the foundation and any drain where water has been, and the access path is checked against the truck's stop point before the unit is set.
A commercial building or a block of units may need a row of portable units, a handwash station and a written service plan. The units are placed on the firm side of the lot, away from the work zone, and the truck route is kept open through the cleanup. The count follows the crew on the site at its busiest, using the same OSHA tiers as any construction work.
Park ground along the rivers and creeks is often the lowest and the softest on a site. Where a park is used as a staging area, units go on the upper ground at the edge of the lot. Any use of park ground is arranged with the park authority first, and the placement is agreed before the units are delivered.
The Scioto and the Olentangy meet downtown, and Alum Creek, Big Walnut Creek and Blacklick Creek drain the east side. Each creek valley has its own low ground, and a cleanup site near the water is placed with that in mind. The Blacklick area page covers one of the east-side corridors where the creek runs close to the work.
Big Darby Creek on the west side is a National Scenic River with a protected watershed and extra stormwater scrutiny. A cleanup crew working near it keeps its staging off drainage paths, and units are placed on the upland side of any work that drains toward the creek. Those are placement choices, and the technician makes them on the site walk.
East Franklinton has large parcels that can be redeveloped because of the Franklinton floodwall. Cleanup on those parcels starts from a site walk, since the ground is not uniform across a parcel and the placement depends on where the water sat. The Franklinton area page has more on that part of the city.
Most storm and flood recovery restrooms calls are scheduled the same day when a technician is free, and you approve the price before any work starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Single-unit portable toilet rental for job sites, yards, and events across Columbus and Franklin County.
Portable handwash stations for construction crews and event food areas in Columbus.
How a unit is delivered, leveled and placed in Columbus and Franklin County so the service truck can reach it for every pump-out.
How portable toilets are serviced, and why only a locally registered septage hauler may pump them in Ohio.
The phone line is answered 24 hours a day. A visit the same day happens only when a technician is free, and no arrival time is promised. The site walk is the first step, so calling early gives the technician time to see the ground before the unit is loaded.
Until the building's plumbing works and the crew no longer needs them. The site contact confirms the end date, and the unit is removed after the last shift on that site.
A unit in a public street is cleared with whoever controls that street before it goes down. The placement is set on the walk and the spot is checked for traffic and for the truck's stop.
Yes. The count follows the number of people using the unit at once. For construction work the OSHA tiers set the minimum, and the technician adds units where the crew would otherwise queue.