Breaks in the only water pipe to the Grand Canyon lead to the closure of hotel accommodation
VIEW LARGER The Trans-Canyon Water Pipeline, which carries water from Roaring Springs on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim, requires repairs every year. In this 2014 photo, National Park Service staff inspect a crack in a section of the pipe.
National Park Service
By Rio Yamat, Associated Press
Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park can no longer stay in hotels following a series of breaks in the only pipeline that supplies the popular tourist destination.
The restrictions will be in place throughout Labor Day, when hotels will be near or at full capacity, Grand Canyon spokeswoman Joelle Baird said Wednesday, an unprecedented move even for a water main that has experienced frequent outages, including four recent major breaks.
The 12.5-mile-long Transcanyon Waterline, originally built in the 1960s, supplies drinking water to facilities on the South Rim and in the inner canyon. Park officials say the line has exceeded its expected lifespan and that there have been more than 85 major breaks since 2010, each of which has cut off the water supply.
All park concessions will suspend overnight accommodations, including El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge and Phantom Ranch. Non-park hotels in the town of Tusayan, Arizona, will not be affected.
Heidi Zahner Younts of Iowa City, Iowa, wrote in a comment on the park’s Facebook page on Wednesday that she had planned “the trip of a lifetime” with her daughter for the weekend and called the situation sad.
However, on Wednesday evening, she told the Associated Press via Facebook message that she was able to book another hotel outside the park.
“Maybe less traffic and people?” she said.
The park remains open during the day, as does the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim and other visitor services at the North Rim.
Officials say the park has been experiencing water supply problems since July 8, and water is not currently being pumped to either the south or north rim of the canyon.
Park management hopes to fully resume operations for overnight guests at the South Rim as soon as possible.
In the meantime, due to current water restrictions, authorities are asking residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes or less, turning off the tap when shaving or brushing teeth, using the toilet flush selectively and only washing clothes with full loads.
Making the restoration work even more difficult is that the fractures occurred in a narrow part of the canyon known as the “box,” an area that is prone to rockfalls and high temperatures at this time of year.
“It’s definitely a challenge when a pipeline breaks,” Baird said, citing safety concerns for crews tasked with repairing the damage.
The National Park Service recently began a $208 million renovation of the aqueduct and modernization of the associated water supply system, which is expected to be completed in 2027.
The park aims to meet the water needs of six million annual visitors and about 2,500 year-round residents, officials said.
Associated Press journalists Walter Berry in Phoenix, Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff, Arizona, and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed to this report.
