Built to withstand bombs, Diefenbunker Museum toilets now in disrepair
The message on the Diefenbunker Museum's website is blunt: "There's no way around it. Our system is pooped."
The system in question is the museum's Cold War-era washrooms. Much like the Diefenbunker itself — commissioned in 1959 by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker — the toilets were built to withstand a nuclear bomb. And while the bunker itself is still sturdy, the facility's toilets are anything but.
Katie Balmer is the Ottawa museum's events manager.
"Unfortunately, our plumbing is original to the bunker — and with old plumbing come(s) issues like not enough water pressure for 65,000 visitors a year," she tells As it Happens host Carol Off.
Of course, the toilets were designed with a more official incumbent in mind.
"It would have been key members of the government and military. Really not any civilians, unless they were secretaries or nurses — that type of thing," explains Balmer. "[Those] who were looking to keep everything running, when everything outside is not running so well."
[I]f there was a blast, the toilets themselves would be able to move a little bit without breaking — much like the bunker itself — which you would want with 530 other people with you underground for 30 days in a lock-down scenario.- Katie Balmer, Diefenbunker museum
And given their purpose, the toilets were also designed to keep everything running well.
"They, at first glance, look very normal. What sets them apart is that they're actually mounted on a one-inch thick rubber disk, that's then welded to the floor. And all of the connections for the toilet are flexible," says Balmer.
"So if there was a blast, there would be some sort of seismic event associated with it. The toilets themselves would be able to move a little bit without breaking — much like the bunker itself. It would have been able to move a little bit without anything bad happening to it structurally. So the toilets could have functioned, which you would want with 530 other people with you underground for 30 days in a lock-down scenario."
Balmer points out that most of the equipment that needs replacing — toilet seats, flush valves — is readily available. The main issue, she says, is one of water pressure.
"If someone goes to the washroom on one of the lower levels and flushes the toilet, we can't flush the toilet on one of the top levels," she explains. "Of the 55 toilets in the bunker, about 23 are working."
Due to the cost of repairs — about $10,000 — the museum has launched an online campaign to help raise the necessary funds.
"It's proving to be a little bit less difficult than we thought," says Balmer. "Partially due to the fact that people love our toilets. It's quirky. And we love to be quirky."
For more on this story, listen to our full interview with Katie Balmer.