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Every Backcountry Toilet Has Its Expiration Date

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Published Date

November 3, 2015

It took a quarter-century, but the composing toilet at the Cottonwood Campground in Grand Canyon National Park has reached its expiration date, and park crews are replacing it.

Trail crews this week started to replace the existing four-stall facility with a new four-stall building with solar-powered composting toilets. The new building will be similar to composting toilet units located at Indian Garden, which were constructed in 2011. Those units require a fraction of the maintenance and the park has received numerous compliments from campers and hikers for these facilities.

Before demolition of the existing Cottonwood structure, the trail crew will set up several temporary toilets with wooden slat privacy screens for hikers and campers to use during construction. Short paths to these toilets will be marked with directional signs. To have a space for materials and on-site construction adjacent to the toilet building, crews will create a short detour from the North Kaibab Trail.

The Grand Canyon Trail Crew will be on site every other week starting November 3. Initial work will include mobilization of materials and temporary toilets, creating safe detours, removing waste, and complete demolition of the existing building. Beginning the week of November 30, the construction contractor- Advanced Composting Systems- will be on site building the new toilet structure. Work is anticipated to be done by December 18 when the new toilets will be open for use.

During the entire demolition and construction period, all work will be supported by helicopter transport. Approximately 50 flights will be needed to transport gear and materials in and out of the canyon. Noise associated with helicopter flights, demolition, and construction will be limited to daylight hours. Hikers and campers should follow detour signs and instructions from trail crew members.

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