Officials at Grand Canyon National Park will begin to ease water restrictions as crews make progress repairing breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline.
Concessionaire-run lodging on the South Rim will return to full capacity Friday evening as water is again being pumped into storage containers. Businesses will reach out to impacted reservation holders with information about their stays.
However, fire restrictions in the park remain in effect, and camper services are not being offered. In addition, Mather and Desert View campgrounds are open only for dry camping as water spigots will stay off.
According to officials, water conservation efforts are still critical as the park continues to operate under the six-decade-old water system. They ask residents and visitors to limit showers to five minutes, flush toilets “selectively” and report leaks to park staff.
The Transcanyon Waterline was built in the 1960s and pipes drinking water 12½ miles from Roaring Springs across the canyon to the South Rim. The aging system fails frequently and has suffered 85 major breaks since 2010.
Breaks usually take three to five days to repair but conservation measures typically remain in effect for longer if there are multiple breaks. Each break costs about $25,000 to fix.
The park is working on a $200 million replacement for the pipeline, but it won’t be completed until next year.
