Health department checklist for festival porta potties in 2026.

The health department will check your sanitation plan for compliance with the city's special event permit rules, which include your unit count, ADA cluster rule placement, and servicing schedule. The inspector will verify the physical setup matches your plan. They will look for the blue deodorizer liquid in the holding tank to confirm a chemical charge is present, but they do not test its composition. They will check that ADA-compliant portable toilet doors open fully and look for a clear turning space inside; they may measure it with a tape measure. Handwash stations must be within 25 feet of food vendor stations and within 200 feet of any cluster of toilets, per typical health code. Your plan for 5,000 people with alcohol over three days needs more than the baseline guideline of one unit per 50 to 75 people for a four-hour event. Your proposed 92 total units is a reasonable start, but confirm with the permit office. The inspector will also check that all units are on level ground, serviced before the event starts, and that the service frequency is adequate for the crowd size and duration; daily pumping is standard for a festival of this scale. They will note if any units are blocked from the vacuum truck.