What a relief: 4 DuPage County forest preserves to upgrade to flush washrooms
Visitors to some of the more rustic forest preserves in DuPage County still have to use the nearest pit latrine when nature calls.
If that sounds like an iffy proposition, relief is in sight.
The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County plans to replace old latrines with a more modern convenience - toilets that flush - in four forest preserves next year.
The district intends to use prefabricated building kits to install flush washrooms in Wood Dale Grove near Addison, Waterfall Glen near Willowbrook, Pratt's Wayne Woods near Wayne, and Mallard Lake Forest Preserve near Hanover Park.
Before he was elected, forest preserve President Daniel Hebreard called for flush toilets, saying the district has far too many amenities that are not ADA-accessible. In 2018, he noted almost all of the district's bathrooms were outdated pit latrines.
"I've seen people lined up and families not having good access to facilities for a (baby) changing table," Hebreard said during a planning session Tuesday. "I think they're going to be really excited about the solution."
Officials say the plan is to order the four flush washroom kits from Romtec Inc., an Oregon manufacturer, through Sourcewell, a government purchasing cooperative. The kits themselves are expected to cost $747,303.
Many of the district's pit latrines were built more than 30 years ago. After pursuing a custom design for flush washrooms, officials determined that a pre-engineered structure would be less expensive.
"This will allow the district to save several tens of thousands of dollars not only on design, but construction costs over custom design structures, which have become infeasible due to the current construction market conditions," said Kevin Horsfall, assistant director of resource management and development.
The kits still will need to be adapted to each unique site, Horsfall said. Commissioners last month hired Patrick Engineering Inc. to provide mechanical, electrical, plumbing and solar design services, permitting and bid assistance. The firm will evaluate the potential of the washrooms being powered by solar energy.
"All in," the project is estimated to cost roughly $650,000 to $700,000 per site, Horsfall said.
"You're looking at about $400,000 to have the building installed on site," Horsfall told commissioners. "And then we have anywhere from $200,000 to $250,000 for the site work," including for utilities, grading, paths and landscaping.
Commissioner Linda Painter has questioned the cost and some of the proposed washroom locations.
"By the parking lot in Waterfall Glen is really in the middle of nowhere," she said.
With its prairies, savannas and woodlands, Waterfall Glen is one of the most popular preserves in the district.
"It's expensive to be in the middle of nowhere with no power and to have no access to water or sewer, to have to do our own septic," Hebreard explained. "All those different things have costs."
The washrooms will be designed as three-season facilities open to the public from April through October. Officials are proposing three-unit facilities for the four preserves. Future phases of work could provide five-unit facilities.
"All our restroom units will be the same," Horsfall said. "They're going to be nongender-specific. They'll have baby changing stations. And it'll be ADA-accessible."