Restroom units for cleanup crews and storm-damaged sites in Jacksonville, placed where the plumbing is out and collected after the work.
Fastest: call (888) 351-0294. Or send this and we call you back.
Storm recovery restrooms are portable units placed for cleanup crews, repair crews and households whose plumbing is out after a hurricane or flood. A technician picks placement on the driest ground the site offers and keeps units away from low spots. Units are often secured or pulled before a storm and set back out once the water drops.
Storm surge and river flooding shape recovery work in Jacksonville, and the city has seen both. Hurricane Irma, in September 2017, pushed water into the St. Johns River before the storm arrived, and with the northeasterly winds the water backed up at the river's narrowing turn and ran through downtown, San Marco and Riverside. Hurricane Matthew, in October 2016, sent surge and waves across the beaches and reached inland in Jacksonville Beach.
Cleanup crews, repair contractors and the families moving back into flooded homes all need a toilet close at hand. When the plumbing is out, a house cannot flush, and the nearest working restroom may be well outside the area that is cordoned off. Units go where the damage is: a driveway, a cleared lot, the grass beside a church or school, or the edge of a damaged site.
Phones are answered 24/7 at (888) 351-0294. In a storm, the company that takes the call will ask for the address or the nearest cross streets, the number of crew members or residents who will use the units, and whether the site is still wet or closed off. A quote comes from the company that takes your call, and it is explained and approved before work starts. Storm work is one of the places where a site can change in a day, so placement is planned with the crew on the ground, not guessed from a phone call alone.
The time on site is set by the recovery work itself, not by a fixed period. Units stay as long as the crew or household needs them, and servicing continues on the agreed schedule.
A household with a flooded bathroom may need a unit for a few weeks while the plumbing is repaired. A repair crew on a damaged commercial site may need units for a longer stretch, with servicing adjusted as the crew grows or shrinks. The company that takes the call will ask for a rough timeline, and the rental is adjusted as the work changes.
No. A unit should not be set in standing water, and it should not be placed on ground that is still soft from flooding. The crew waits until the site can be judged, then places the unit on the highest firm ground available.
Standing water hides soft ground, broken pavement and sharp debris, and a unit set on that ground can sink, lean or float when the water rises again. The crew needs to see the bottom of the site before it can set a base and anchor the unit properly.
Irma's river flooding and Matthew's beach surge showed that low ground and exposed ground fail first. The National Weather Service in Jacksonville said the surge flooding from Irma exceeded the record set by Hurricane Dora in 1965.
Downtown, San Marco and Riverside were all in the path of Irma's water in September 2017, and placement plans for those neighborhoods begin with where water collects and where a truck can stand. A unit set on a low corner of a lot is the first to be lost in a flood, so the crew looks for the higher ground on the same lot.
The price depends on the number of units, the length of the work, the access to the site and the number of services needed. It is explained and approved before work starts, and no figure is given here.
Each unit adds to the cost, and so does each service visit. A site with many people using the units every day needs more servicing than a single household, and a site on a closed road with a long carry needs more crew time. A unit that has to be pulled back and re-set after a storm is a separate job.
Units on exposed sites are secured or pulled back to safer ground before the storm. The company works with the site contact to decide which units move and where they are kept.
The decision is made early, when the forecast is clear enough to act on, and it is written down so that everyone on site knows which units have been moved. A unit that is strapped in place is checked again after the first wind and rain, and a unit that is pulled back is inspected before it goes out again.
Do not move a unit or its tank during high water, mud or after a storm, and do not try to pump or drain a unit yourself. A loaded unit is heavy, and a storm-damaged site has hidden hazards: soft ground, sharp debris, fallen lines and unstable structures. Keep children and pets away from a unit that is being moved or serviced. Do not connect a generator to a unit or run a unit's power from a damaged panel. If a unit has been in standing water or has shifted, tell the company before anyone uses it.
A technician walks the site before a unit is set. The crew looks for standing water, mud, debris and the state of the access road or driveway. A unit is not placed in standing water, and a site that is still under water waits until the water has dropped and the ground can be judged.
The unit goes on the highest and firmest ground the site offers, away from low spots and from the piles of debris that are often left at the curb. The crew keeps the unit clear of the line where water is expected to reach if the weather turns, and it sets a base under the unit so that it does not sink into soft ground over the next few days.
A loaded unit is heavy, and high water or wind can lift, shift or float an unsecured one. The crew straps or anchors each unit to the site and checks the anchors after the first wind or rain.
Servicing is scheduled around crew size and the number of people using the site each day. Cleanup work is often long, dusty and hot, and the holding tank fills faster when many people use it at once.
When a storm is forecast, exposed units are secured or pulled back to safer ground, and the company notes which units were moved. After the storm, each site is checked for damage before the units go back out.
When a storm is forecast, units on exposed sites are secured against wind or taken off the site entirely. The decision is made with the site contact, and the company notes which units were moved and where they are kept. A unit that cannot be pulled is strapped down and checked before the storm arrives, not after.
On an active cleanup or repair site, the construction toilet standard in the OSHA rules still applies. The OSHA table at 29 CFR 1926.51 starts at one toilet facility for 20 or fewer workers, and under temporary field conditions the employer must make sure at least one toilet facility is available. The count is set by the crew on site, and the placement is planned for the route the crew actually walks.
For a household whose plumbing is out, a unit is usually placed on the driveway or in the side yard, where the truck can reach it without crossing a wet lawn or a debris pile. The homeowner chooses the spot within what the crew can reach and what the ground can hold. A unit on a soft lawn gets a base, and a unit near the house is kept clear of the path a contractor needs.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent hurricane and storm recovery restrooms, send the form and we'll call you back.
Downtown, San Marco and Riverside were the neighborhoods named when Irma's water came through in September 2017, so a recovery plan for those areas starts with the low corners of each lot and the routes trucks use to reach them. The San Marco service area and the Riverside and Avondale service area pages describe the ground and the housing in those neighborhoods.
The Beaches face a different pattern. Matthew's surge and waves reached inland in Jacksonville Beach, and the pier there was damaged again by later storms, including Irma in 2017 and Nicole in 2022, which washed away a section of the rebuilt pier.
Recovery work also crosses the river. Crews and trucks move between the river neighborhoods and the Beaches on several bridges over the St. Johns, and a closed bridge can hold up a service truck for hours.
Towable trailers with flushing toilets and running-water sinks, sized to the crowd and placed on ground that will hold them.
Units placed within a short walk of the crew, counted against the OSHA table by headcount and serviced on a schedule that keeps them usable.
Units kept on a Duval County site for months, serviced on a schedule set around your crew.
Where a unit can be set down, how it gets there, and what the lot needs before the truck arrives.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, and a portable toilet on a Jacksonville site is exposed for all of it.
Delivery and placement are planned with the site contact and the company's own safety judgment, so a storm watch can pause a placement or change the route. Ask the company when you call, and ask what it will do with the units if the forecast changes. A unit that has already been placed may be pulled back before the storm arrives.
A unit left in place can be shifted, tipped or damaged by wind and water, even when it is strapped down. The company can secure the unit or pull it back to safer ground before the storm. The decision is made with the site contact and recorded so that everyone knows where each unit is.
The company that services the units must hold an annual operating permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection, and its service staff must carry proof of that permit and of the vehicle inspection. Ask to see the proof when the crew arrives. This page does not list any permit number, and the company can explain which local rules apply to your site.
Servicing depends on access, and a closed road or a blocked driveway can delay a visit. The company schedules around closures as far as it can and tells the site contact when a visit has to move. Ask for the service schedule in writing so that you know what to expect in the first week.
The construction toilet standard at 29 CFR 1926.51 starts at one toilet facility for 20 or fewer workers, and it requires at least one toilet facility to be available under temporary field conditions. Toilets in an unsanitary condition do not count toward that minimum, so servicing matters. The crew on site sets the count for its own headcount.
A unit can sit on a wet lawn only with a firm base under it, and the crew decides whether the ground will hold it for the length of the work. Boards or a pad spread the load and protect the grass. If the lawn is too soft, the crew will suggest a firmer spot on the same property.