Porta potties in high demand ahead of total eclipse

Certainly, you’ve got your eclipse glasses and a spot to watch, but have you considered every essential for the event?

“Sure, you’ve got the burgers, the steaks, the hot dogs, and the eclipse sunglasses. Now, what about restrooms?” questioned John Banda, the owner of North Texas Porta Potties based in Dallas.

Restroom facilities were among the various topics discussed at last week’s eclipse town hall in Ennis, a city within the path of totality expecting up to 200,000 visitors.

“I don’t want to get too detailed, but just to give an example, that’s a lot of individuals in need of finding a restroom,” remarked Ennis City Manager Marty Nelson during the meeting.

To ensure adequate facilities, the city proactively reserved 100 porta potties six months ahead of time, an extended timeframe compared to the usual three-week preparation for events.

“Our primary inquiries right now are actually for the eclipse,” noted Banda. He mentioned that his company has only a limited number of porta-potties left for the day of the eclipse.

NBC 5 reached out to several porta-potty rental businesses in North Texas, and each confirmed that they were either completely sold out of porta-potties for the eclipse or were very close to reaching full capacity.

“Porta potties aren’t typically top of mind when planning an event,” Banda added.

He advised event organizers to secure bookings promptly because enduring traffic for the eclipse is one thing, but enduring long restroom lines is another inconvenience altogether.