Hotels within Grand Canyon National Park had to close temporarily just before the busy Labor Day weekend due to a significant water supply issue, park officials announced on Wednesday. The closures were prompted by a rupture in a 50-year-old pipeline, known as the Transcanyon Waterline, which is responsible for delivering water to the park.
According to the National Park Service, the pipeline suffered “a series of four significant breaks” along its 12.5-mile stretch, which has resulted in no potable water being delivered to either the South or North Rim of the canyon.
As a result, several accommodations, including the El Tovar Hotel, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, Phantom Ranch, Yavapai Lodge, and Trailer Village RV Park, were forced to cancel reservations for Thursday night. However, hotels located outside the park in the nearby town of Tusayan remained operational.
Camping within the park is still allowed, with working faucets available in bathroom facilities. However, spigot access at campgrounds on the South Rim has been turned off. Additionally, a ban on all fires, including wood-burning and charcoal fires, campfires, warming fires, and charcoal barbecues, has been implemented in the South Rim and inner canyon areas.
The Transcanyon Waterline, constructed in the 1960s, has outlasted its expected lifespan and is prone to frequent failures, the park service noted. Since 2010, there have been 85 major breaks in the pipeline. To address these ongoing issues, the park service has recently begun a multi-year, $208 million rehabilitation project to overhaul the aging waterline.
Source: nbcnews.com