The National Park Service plans to partially replace and shorten the frequently broken 50-year-old pipeline that supplies water to the Grand Canyon National Park hotels, campgrounds, staff housing and other facilities on the South Rim.
An announcement Wednesday said the newly approved plan includes replacing 3 miles of the pipeline and building new treatment facilities and tanks.
It also includes relocating the water intake from springs partway up the canyon's north wall to near Bright Angel Creek at Phantom Ranch at the canyon bottom.
The pipeline opened in 1965 and was designed to last 40 years, but there have been more than 80 breaks since 2010, often due to falling rocks.
Water transported by the pipeline supports more than 6 million annual visitors and about 2,500 year-round residents.
