Hotels on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, including El Tovar, will close Thursday due to a water shortage on the rim/NPS file
A water shortage on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park will force closure of hotels there, the National Park Service announced Wednesday afternoon.
Four breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline that brings water from the North Rim to the South Rim is forcing the park to implement Stage 4 water restrictions beginning Thursday afternoon. The breaks in the 12-and-a-half-mile-long pipeline have made it impossible to pump water to either the South or the North rims, a park release said.
As a result, the Park Service is implementing the following measures for the foreseeable future:
- Overnight Guest Lodging: Effective Thursday, August 29, all park concessions will halt overnight accommodations. This includes hotel facilities operated by Xanterra, such as El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, and Phantom Ranch, as well as Delaware North’s Yavapai Lodge and Trailer Village. Overnight hotel accommodations located outside the park in the town of Tusayan will not be impacted by changes in park operations.
- Dry Camping: Only dry camping will be permitted. Spigot access at campgrounds on the South Rim will be turned off, though faucets in bathrooms will remain operational. Water spigot access will be available at the Mather Campground check-in kiosk.
- No fires will be allowed on the South Rim and inner canyon areas. Fire restrictions prohibit all wood burning and charcoal fires, including campfires, warming fires, and charcoal barbeques. For more information on fire restrictions, visit the park’s Fire Information webpage.
- Operational Services: The park will remain open for day use. All South Rim food and beverage services, the Grand Canyon Clinic, and the Post Office will remain open. The North Rim's Grand Canyon Lodge, and other North Rim visitor services such as the Campground, will remain open.
Park officials say water conservation measures remain in place for both rims of the park. "We are asking residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes or less, turning off faucets while shaving or brushing teeth, flushing toilets selectively, washing laundry with full loads, and reporting leaks to the appropriate offices," the park release said.
Backcountry hikers will need to carry all the water they'll need or have ways to treat water along the way.
Read about the need to rebuild the pipeline and the approach the Park Service is taking.
Originally built in the 1960s, the Transcanyon Waterline provides potable water for facilities on the South Rim and inner canyon. The waterline has exceeded its expected lifespan and experiences frequent failures, which require expensive and continuous maintenance work to repair leaks. Since 2010, there have been over 85 major breaks that have each disrupted water delivery. The National Park Service recently started construction on a multi-year, $208 million rehabilitation of the Transcanyon Waterline and upgrades to the associated water delivery system. This crucial investment in infrastructure will ensure the park is able to meet water supply needs for six million annual visitors and approximately 2,500 year-round residents.
The project is expected to be completed in 2027. The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) is providing more than $40 million to replace the South Rim Wastewater Treatment Plant which services visitor, staff, lodging and support facilities. GAOA is part of a concerted effort by the National Park Service to address extensive deferred maintenance and repair needs in national parks.
Comments
Just wondering. If the hotels and such right outside the park have water, why can't the South Rim tie into that municipal system? Seems that would be the smart thing to do in the long run.
Seems that would be the smart thing to do in the long run.
That's the core of the problem with the NPS.
Grand Canyon: One of our greatest nat'l parks is brought to its knees by inept inaction by the NPS.
SHAME on the NPS for letting this happen.
SHAME!
Not to be an apologist for the NPS, but they've been trying for years to get this pipeline replaced. Back in July 2017 they formally started the process. Not only is the paperwork gauntlet massive and complex (NEPA), but Congress has to provide the funding. Indeed, if you look at a lot of projects the NPS proposes in the parks, there's often a sentence that says something like, "when funding is identified."
Kurt, do you know why they can't be served by the local system of Tusayan
I don't, Ben, but I've raised that question with the park and am waiting on a response.
1965 - 2017 = 52 years of inaction
ANYONE in the private sector would have begun planning for the pipepline's replacement in 1966, and seeking funding for its replacement in 1968. I first spent significant time in the GC in 2000. Even then, issues with water and the water system were well publicized.
Funding? Is it not possible for the NPS (or GCNP as an indiividual unit) to set aside funding for the pipeline replacement in 1970? Or 1990? Or 2000? Private businesses do this all the time (sinking funds) to prepare for future capital expenditures. Instead, it's a sad reality that the NPS typically does not act or even begin to plan to act until the inevitable and predictable crisis stares them in their faces. And WE ALL suffer.
Sure, I'm highly critical of the NPS, but the GC is a keystone nat'l park. The pipeline was a crisis in 2000 if not earlier. There is no explanation as why the GC waited until 2017 to begin "formal planning", except that "wait until there's a crisis" planning is the usual way of planning at the NPS.
My recollection is that the town of Tusayan does NOT have its own water system. Water in Tusayan is typically pumped and distributed by PRIVATE water companies, so residents and busineses have to find their own supply of water.
Although, I think the town recently sunk a well, but it still does not supply all or even most of the town.
In fact, in the past, the town of Tusayan has contracted with the NPS for the NPS to supply the town with water. So, it's the other way around: the town of Tusayan has historically tied into the NPS water system.