Improving Public Restroom Access
It’s not something most of us like to think about…but when public restrooms are tough to come by, nature still will call. That can have unfortunate consequences, impacting everything from our enjoyment of public spaces, to our water quality, to our sense of human decency.
One Truckee River is working with partners to install 9 new public restrooms along the Truckee River in Nevada. In 2020, we installed our region’s first “Portland Loo,” a temper-resistant restroom in Brodhead Memorial Park. Since then, we’ve installed 2 additional restrooms in Reno City Plaza and John Champion Park. Additionally, in 2025, Truckee River Fund awarded a grant to Washoe County to install new facilities in Mayberry Park and the City of Reno added new facilities in Idlewild Park. These investments were spurred by OTR’s watershed coalition building efforts (program page link) and key supporters such as Truckee Meadows Water Authority. We’ve installed 4 restrooms so far - and have 5 more to go!
Learn more about our public restroom efforts through our Water Trail Program, how it mirrors similar projects across the country – and why this somewhat-awkward conversion is so essential to protecting the Truckee River.
