Water conservation measures are currently in place at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park due to breaks in the Transcanyon pipeline. Replacing the pipeline requires a more than $200 million investment in infrastructure without disrupting archaeology and ecology.
Filling up your water bottle at Grand Canyon National Park is a testament to engineering spanning the entire Canyon. The Transcanyon Waterline is a 12-mile series of pipelines, pumphouses, and water treatment facilities that date back to the 1960s.
Rob Parrish is the park’s Chief of Planning, Environment, and Projects. “I can honestly say that if this was the first Trans Canyon water line being built in the Grand Canyon, now likely we would never do it.”
Laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act now protect ecological and cultural landscapes. An archaeological monitor works with the construction crew to protect objects like pottery or traces of dwellings made by the region’s Indigenous residents.
Ellen Brennan is the park’s Cultural Resources Program Manager. “Most of the time in the park, we leave it in situ, which means leave it in place and try to preserve it for the future.”
When anything of cultural significance is found, the construction crew moves to another spot so that the archaeologist can investigate.
The transcanyon waterline is expected to be finished in October of 2026.
