In the Blue Rock State Park Project, MS Consultants brought the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to Romtec for the design and supply of a restroom structure that would meet the needs of park guests at Blue Rock State Park in Blue Rock, Ohio. In addition to meeting the needs of guests, the restroom would also need to withstand flooding as it is located in campgrounds close to Cutler Lake.
Blue Rock State Park stretches across 322 acres of diverse plant and animal life with scenic hills and lake views. Much of the land that is now parkland was farms that were abandoned in the Great Depression and later purchased by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in 1936. The area has since reverted back to forested areas with Oak and Hickory trees and a lush undergrowth of woodland wildflowers, ferns, and more. At the park, guests can participate in a wide array of activities including archery, boating, camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, and more. (“Blue Rock State Park”, n.d.)
Romtec supplied the Ohio DNR a restroom structure with 6 individual, unisex restrooms, two of which are American Disability Act (ADA) compliant, with a central mechanical room for access to plumbing and storing of mechanical including a water heater to provide warm water in the restrooms. Each restroom features high efficiency white toilets and sinks with motion flushometers and faucets, respectively. Guests can also utilize automatic hand dryers, which cut down on waste from the restrooms.
The structure is composed of Concrete Masonry Units (CMU), with the bottom row of CMU exposed and the remaining block finished with a board and batten siding. The roofing on this structure is a hardy metal roofing in a Galley Blue color that can easily be seen by guests at the park.
The restroom structure is climate controlled, with two air conditioners mounted on the exterior of the building to control the temperature inside during the warmer months. EnergyShield continuous wall insulation installed in the structure will also help to control the temperature inside the structure, and will make the air conditioning units more efficient at cooling the interior.
With the structure’s proximity to the waterfront, it was important to plan and accommodate for flooding. Romtec included automatic flood vents in the design, which are locked closed until the water level reaches a certain level on the vent. The rising water pressure outside automatically unlocks the vents, allowing them to open and reduce the pressure on the structure. The vents are placed around the structure to allow flood water to easily flow through and reduce the amount of damage that flooding could cause to the outside of the structure.
The Romtec structure was installed at the Park by Anderzack-Pitzen Construction, Inc., a Contractor based in Toledo, Ohio that handles construction in both the public and private sectors. Anderzack-Pitzen’s hard work has provided Blue Rock State Park and its campgrounds with a new restroom structure that will be able to serve guests season after season, without major damage from flooding in the winter months.
Blue Rock State Park. Ohiodnr.gov. Retrieved 10 September 2021, from https://ohiodnr.gov/wps/portal/gov/odnr/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/blue-rock-state-park.