What's Happening in Spring, TX…

Work has begun on Harris County’s first self-sustaining facility, which will be a 470-square foot restroom located in Precinct 4’s Carter Park.

The Carter Park facility in Spring is designed to generate all the energy required for it to function via solar panels, and will also feature an onsite wastewater treatment and rain harvesting system. According to Harris County engineer John Blount, the importance of this first net zero facility could be far reaching.

Blount points out that Harris County has many parks that lack restroom facilities due to the cost of providing electricity and water for them. Should this first self-sustaining restroom prove successful, the county could then begin adding them in other parks.

The choice of Carter Park was a calculated one; power and water were already available on site, thereby ensuring that if for some reason the system did not work as anticipated, the restroom could still be made operational with a minimum of expense.

Assuming everything goes as planned, the county will perhaps wish to explore self-sustainable moves with other types of county structures. If Harris County continues with its net zero experiment, or even expands upon it, it will want to work with a printing company to determine the ideal way to educate the public on net zero’s operation and advantages.

The new facility was designed by college students majoring in engineering and architecture, who are part of the county engineering department’s summer intern program.