The southern rim of Grand Canyon National Park is seen in Grand Canyon Village, Arizona, August 8, 2023.
Alex Brandon/AP
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Alex Brandon/AP
Visitors will no longer be able to stay overnight at hotels in Grand Canyon National Park after a series of incidents at the only tube serving the popular tourist attraction.
The restrictions will be in effect through the Labor Day holiday when hotels are near or at capacity, Grand Canyon spokeswoman Joelle Baird said, an unprecedented move even for a water main that has been plagued by frequent outages, including four recent major breaks.
The 12 1/2-mile (20 km) Transcanyon Water Pipeline, originally built in the 1960s, supplies drinking water to facilities on the South Rim and the inner canyon. Park officials say the pipe has exceeded its intended lifespan and has suffered more than 85 major breaks since 2010, each disrupting the water supply.
All park concessions will suspend overnight lodging including at El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge and Phantom Ranch. Hotels located outside the park in the town of Tusayan, Arizona will not be affected.
Heidi Zahner Younts, of Iowa City, Iowa, said Wednesday in a comment on the park’s Facebook page 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 had been able to book another hotel outside the park.
“Maybe less traffic and people?” she said.
The park will be open to day visitors, as will the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim and other North Rim tourist services.
Officials said the park has been facing water supply challenges since July 8 and currently has no water being pumped to the south or north rims of the canyon.
Park officials hope to fully restore overnight visitor operations at the South Rim as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, under current water restrictions, officials are asking residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to no more than five minutes, turning off the tap when shaving or brushing teeth, flushing the toilet selectively and only doing a full load of laundry.
Complicating recovery efforts is that the cracks occurred in a narrow section of the canyon known as the “box,” an area prone to rock falls and hot temperatures this time of year.
“This is definitely a challenging place when a pipeline breaks,” Baird said, noting safety concerns for crews tasked with repairing the damage.
The National Park Service recently began construction on a $208 million water pipeline and related water system upgrade project, scheduled for completion in 2027.
Officials say the park wants to meet the water needs of 6 million visitors a year and about 2,500 year-round residents.
