Water shortage closes plumbed bathrooms at Glacier National Park's Logan Pass Visitor Center
HAILEY SMALLEY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 2 months AGO
A shuttle bus loads passengers at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park. (Daily Inter Lake file)
Bathrooms at Logan Pass Visitor Center in Glacier National Park closed for the season more than a week ahead of schedule amid ongoing water shortages.
Park officials originally planned to shut off water at the popular visitor center on Sept. 7, but low water levels forced the facilities to close nine days early on Aug. 29.
Water usage at Logan Pass averaged about 8,000 gallons a day this summer, according to the park. In previous years, average water usage has been between 5,000 and 6,000 gallons a day.
Officials on Aug. 22 began implementing nightly closures of the plumbed restrooms at Logan Pass to conserve the area’s limited water resources.
“Although these efforts have lengthened the use of the plumbed bathrooms, there is still significant water usage,” officials said Aug. 29.
Staff have not identified any leaks or issues with the current infrastructure, which was first installed in 1963. The park has designated funds toward a project to “address water demand and rehabilitate infrastructure” at Logan Pass. Construction is slated to begin in June 2027.
Other facilities at Logan Pass, including five vault toilets and 17 portable restrooms, remain open and accessible to the public. Autumn Sifuentes, the public affairs specialist for Glacier National Park, said water refilling stations will remain open “as long as possible as conditions allow,” but visitors are urged to be prepared and bring their own potable water.
Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].
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