Restrooms on Riverfront Ground During Flood Season

Reading the high-water mark

The high-water mark is the line the river has reached before, and units belong above it with a margin, because a mark from a past flood is the most reliable guide the site offers.

Where the organiser can show the mark, from a previous flood or from a survey, the technician records it and places units above it. Where no mark is known the site is treated as low, and the plan waits for the owner's record before fixing the layout.

A margin above the mark is sensible. The river can rise above a past mark, and a unit set right on the line leaves no room for that.

Choosing an alternate site

The alternate site is higher, firm and reachable by the same servicing truck, and it is chosen before the event, so the change is a short move rather than a search on the day.

An alternate site that is hard to reach is no alternate at all. The truck must be able to reach it, the crowd must be able to find it and the units must stand on firm ground, all of which is checked on foot.

The alternate site is drawn on the plan with its own count, so the organiser can show the office the fallback as well as the main layout.

• Higher ground than the main site
• A route the servicing truck can use
• A crowd route the public can find
• A count drawn for the alternate site

Moving units out of low ground

Units on low ground are moved before the water arrives, on a set decision point, and the move is planned so the trucks are not caught in the flood.

A move is planned for the decision point, not for the moment the water arrives. The trucks go in while the ground is still passable, and the units are placed on the alternate site before the crowd is sent there.

A unit that cannot be moved in time is collected or left to the owner's instruction, and the plan says which.

After the water goes down

Once the water recedes, the site is checked for damage, the units are cleaned or replaced and the record is updated before the next event on the same ground.

Flood water leaves silt, debris and sometimes a damaged pad. The crew inspects the site and the units, and any unit that has been in water is withdrawn rather than cleaned and reused.

The record of the flood, the mark and the decisions is kept with the plan, so the next event on the same ground starts from what was learned.

Records that survive a flood

The high-water mark, the decision point and the move record are kept with the plan, so a site that floods once is planned from its own history the next time.

A flood leaves a record: the mark on a wall, the date the units were moved and the state the spot was left in. Those are written onto the site's plan, and the next event on the same ground starts from them.

A record like this is also the honest answer to a question from a venue or an office about what happened last time.

Cleaning up after a flood

After a flood the riverfront ground is silted and sometimes damaged, and the units placed there are inspected and cleaned before they are used again.

Flood water leaves mud and debris on the ground and on the units. Any unit that has stood in water is withdrawn rather than cleaned and reused, and the ground is checked before the next placement.

The record of the flood and the mark it left is kept with the plan, so the next placement starts from what was learned.