GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Arizona — Visitors can no longer stay at hotels in Grand Canyon National Park due to several interruptions in the only pipeline serving the popular tourist destination.
The restrictions will be in effect over the Labor Day holiday, when hotels are near capacity or at capacity, Grand Canyon spokeswoman Joelle Baird said Wednesday. It’s an unprecedented move, even for a water utility that has had frequent outages, including four recent significant breaks.
The 12 1/2-mile (20-kilometer) Transcanyon Waterline, originally built in the 1960s, provides drinking water to facilities on the South Rim and the inner canyon. Park officials say it has exceeded its expected lifespan and that there have been more than 85 major breaches since 2010 that have disrupted the water supply.
All park concessions will cease overnight accommodations, including El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge and Phantom Ranch. Hotels outside the park in the town of Tusayan are not affected.
The park remains open for use during the day, as does the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim and other visitor services on the North Rim.
Officials say the park has been experiencing water supply problems since July 8. No water is currently being pumped to the southern or northern rims of the canyon.
Park officials hope to have parking for overnight guests at the South Rim fully operational again as soon as possible.
In the meantime, given the current water restrictions, authorities are asking residents and visitors to do their part to conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes, turning off the tap when shaving or brushing your teeth, selectively flushing toilets and only washing clothes when they are full.
Restoration efforts are being hampered by the fact that the fractures occurred in a narrow section of the gorge known as “the box,” an area prone to falling rocks and where temperatures are high at this time of year.
“It is definitely a challenge to be faced with a pipeline rupture,” said Baird, who pointed to safety concerns for crews repairing the damage.
The National Park Service recently began construction on a $208 million renovation of the waterline and improvements to the associated water supply system, which is expected to be completed in 2027.
Officials say the park aims to meet the water needs of 6 million annual visitors and about 2,500 permanent residents.