Diefenbunker Museum crowdfunds to fix broken toilets
Judy Trinh | CBC News | Posted: June 2, 2016 7:29 PM | Last Updated: June 2, 2016
Plumbing is 60 years old and most of the toilets don't flush
The toilets at Ottawa's Diefenbunker were designed to survive an atomic blast, but a cash crunch is forcing the museum to launch a fundraising campaign to avert a meltdown in its Cold War era washrooms.
The Diefenbunker is hoping to raise $10,000 over the next month to fix its plumbing problems. The toilets and plumbing were put in when the underground bomb shelter was built in 1959 and only 23 of the bunker's 55 toilets are useable.
The toilets and urinals sit on a one-inch thick rubber base and are connected to a well water system with flexible piping. But although they're designed to "withstand a 5 megaton nuclear blast without breaking" the toilets don't flush properly.
"When someone uses a toilet on the first floor, there's not enough pressure in the system to flush toilets on the fourth floor," said facility manager Lizz Thrasher.
Staff said when crowds come through there are often huge lineups for limited working washrooms.
The Diefenbunker is a not-for-profit museum, and although it has been designated a national historic site, the bunker doesn't receive federal funding and must compete with other museums for grants.
The extra costs required to fix toilets that have been offline for five years — we don't have money for that. Katie Balmer, Diefenbunker Community Outreach Manager
Community outreach manager Katie Balmer says the available grants have been shrinking in recent years forcing the museum to generate more revenue on its own.
Earlier this year the bunker partnered with a private entertainment company to offer "escape room" adventures in its 100,000 square foot space. It also hosts spy camps for kids and rents out its facility for birthday parties, but this is the first time the museum has turned to crowd-funding.
"70 per cent of our revenue is self earned," said Balmer.
"We use the revenue to pay staff and to pay our exorbitant hydro bill, but the extra costs required to fix toilets that have been offline for five years — we don't have money for that. So we're crowd-funding."
Tax filings show that the museum has an annual budget of about $1 million. The majority of the money goes toward paying salaries and benefits for its 20 employees. Approximately $55,000 dollars goes to site maintenance, while another $45,000 is spent on utilities.
Last year 65,000 people visited the museum. Staff say they're on track to break that record in 2016.