Why Are Toilets Overflowing on the USS Gerald R Ford?
Despite accolades, the USS Gerald R Ford faces persistent sanitation failures due to a flawed toilet system, raising concerns about design oversight and living conditions during extended deployments.
The United States Navy’s largest and most advanced warship has received multiple awards, including last year’s Battenberg Cup, which honors the “best all-around ship in the Atlantic Fleet,” while last month, the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Gerald R Ford (CVN-78) earned the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the second time.
That award recognizes “those ships which display battle efficiency and emphasize readiness and fitness of the ship,” the US Navy explained.
Yet, some sailors on CVN-78 might argue that some readiness needs to be addressed in a key system, namely its toilets!
Why Is the US Navy Still Struggling with Toilet Problems?
WHRO Public Media, based in Norfolk, Virginia, reported last week that toilets are once again overflowing on the US Navy’s supercarrier. The mother of a sailor onboard the vessel shared photos of the situation with the NPR station.
“The concern is that this is hazardous. If it’s overflowing onto the floor, then this is not sanitary. How are they letting them live like this?” the crewmember’s mother asked.
The photos were reportedly taken just days after USS Gerald R Ford departed Norfolk, beginning her recent deployment. The carrier and strike group transited the Strait of Gibraltar on Monday and are now operating in the Mediterranean. The CSG may continue eastward, likely to operate off the coast of Israel or possibly transit the Suez Canal and take up station in the Gulf of Aden or Arabian Sea to deter any aggression from Iran and its regional proxies.
A ceasefire with the Yemen-based, Tehran-backed Houthi militants went into effect in May, but the group recently attacked two Greek-owned commercial ships earlier this month.
CVN-78 previously operated in the eastern Mediterranean, having her deployment extended twice in late 2023, after the Iranian-backed Hamas carried out its terrorist attack on Israel in October of that year, igniting the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
According to sailors, the advanced supercarrier experienced similar toilet issues during the previous deployment, and the problem remains ongoing.
Navy Blames Sailors, Not Bad Design
The toilet system on CVN-78, which is identical to that of the final Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier, USS George HW Bush (CVN-77), is similar to the sanitation system found on commercial aircraft. Although it was scaled up to handle the demands of a crew of more than 4,000 people, a clogging issue has arisen.
The US Navy’s Sixth Fleet Public Affairs Officer, Tim Gorman, told WHRO in a statement that the problem is due to “unauthorized items being flushed into the system,” which includes items such as t-shirts and mop heads. USS Gerald R Ford has a 10-zone waste system, with two zones reportedly clogged daily. Repairs and unclogging the system take “on average, between 30 minutes and two hours.“
The US Navy determined that the best course of action is to employ an acid flush as frequently as possible. Yet, it is a complex process that can only be carried out while the warship is in port, as acid is pumped through the systems to clean the pipes and restore proper function. The acid flush can also reduce calcium buildup in the system, helping it function at top effectiveness.
Still, in addition to being a time-consuming and toxic process that can’t be done at sea, it costs around $400,000 for each flush.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggested that it isn’t foreign material that is causing the clogs. A 2020 report warned that the waste system, which employs a vacuum to move the matter, was undersized for the number of personnel it was designed to handle. The same sewage network will be incorporated on the next Ford-class carrier, the future USS John F Kennedy (CVN-79). The US Navy has announced no plans even to modify the design. Instead, sailors may be faced with overflowing toilets while deployed at sea.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins.
The post Why Are Toilets Overflowing on the USS Gerald R Ford? appeared first on The National Interest.
