LAKE CASITAS : District May Add Floating Restroom

Weekend boaters at Lake Casitas may soon have a second floating restroom at their disposal.

Encouraged by the popularity of the first seaworthy toilet, launched at the reservoir in 1991, the board of the Casitas Municipal Water District today will consider a state grant that would pay for a second facility.

Dubbed S. S. Relief, the restroom would be anchored on the south side of the lake, Ranger Brent Doan said. The first now floats in a cove, protecting it from swells.

District officials say the floating restrooms are easier to clean than the onshore toilets and more convenient for boaters. They also believe that they cut down on contamination of the reservoir, which provides drinking water to about 55,000 people in Ojai and west Ventura.

Boating and fishing are allowed in the lake, but swimming and wading are banned.

“The lake is used for drinking water, so we encourage the proper use of that whenever we can,” Doan said.

The first S. S. Relief is heavily used on weekends in the summer and must be towed to shore to be emptied and cleaned. A second bobbing toilet would allow the district to offer continuous service, he said. Used on lakes throughout the state, the floating toilets are made of stained wood with white decking. Each has two commodes.