Re: Vernal Fall Comfort Station Temporary Closure

Due to high turbidity (lack of water clarity) in the Merced River, the drinking fountain and comfort station at the Vernal Fall bridge are closed. This closure will be temporary and the water system will be opened again when conditions permit.

Probably been covered before, but I will ask, does this mean the comfort station gets the water from the river? Why do they care about the toilet water being clear?

Yes, it appears that the Vernal Fall comfort station gets its water from the river and not the large tank below Sierra Point--which is filled from wells near Yosemite (Valley) Lodge/Residence One.

Perhaps having silt in the water can cause problems with the plumbing (pumps, valves, etc) or treatment facility* for this water, and/or they don't have "non-potable water" signs to post at the sinks when the water (such as from the sinks) isn't drinkable.

* Does anyone know where/how this water is treated?

I thought it just reconnected to the river hence the "Treat your drinking water" warnings.

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Old Dude

I think the drinking fountain at the Vernal bridge is considered treated water. I can't imagine the park service having a drinking fountain/refill station that requires treatment.

I'm sure that the water at the drinking fountain is treated, otherwise there wouldn't be a drinking fountain for the public to use.

My guess (it's only a guess) is that the treatment system might use some sort of membrane filters that will clog when the water is very turbid, so they shut down the intake before it hits the treatment system. Maybe they shut it down after the filter starts getting clogged.

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Leave No Trace

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plawrence
I'm sure that the water at the drinking fountain is treated, otherwise there wouldn't be a drinking fountain for the public to use.

My guess (it's only a guess) is that the treatment system might use some sort of membrane filters that will clog when the water is very turbid, so they shut down the intake before it hits the treatment system. Maybe they shut it down after the filter starts getting clogged.

It makes sense that running too-turbid water through the filters would tend to clog them prematurely. It could also leave hard-to-get-rid-of sediment in the pipes leading to the filters.

A few years ago I refilled one of my water bottles at the drinking fountain by the footbridge. There had apparently been some kind of problem with water treatment because the water turned out to reek of chlorine. Since then, I've been making sure to taste the water before filling up but I haven't noticed any more chlorine.

Thanks for posting this. Wish I had read it sooner; would have saved me ten to fifteen minutes :-).

Just got back from the valley and hiked what I call The big loop (Mist trail to Nevada to Illouiette to Glacier point, down four mile trail). Anyway, not wanting to carry water for longer than we had to, I suggested to the group to fill up our waters at the Vernal bridge. NPS had a sign about the closure but it was just at the beginning of the uphill part of the trail. I don't know why they didn't put the sign at the beginning of the trail. There is no other way to get there other than the main road, or main bridge (since the previous bridge washed out years ago), so we backtracked to the bathrooms where one faucet was working.

The water was pretty murky, but still absolutely amazing.