Breaks in only water pipeline for Grand Canyon prompt shutdown of hotel stays

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — The main pipeline providing water to the Grand Canyon National Park has failed after a series of breaks, leading to a sudden and sweeping shutdown of overnight hotel stays during one of the busiest times of the year for the famous tourist destination.

Water restrictions will run throughout the Labor Day holiday when hotels are near or at capacity. It’s an unprecedented outcome, even for a pipeline with a long history of frequent failures.

Since July 8, the park has faced challenges with its water supply, and no water is currently being pumped to either the canyon’s south or north rims, officials said.

Heidi Zahner Younts, of Iowa City, Iowa, said Wednesday in a comment on the park’s Facebook page that she had “the trip of a lifetime” with her daughter planned for the weekend, calling the situation sad.

By Wednesday evening, however, she told The Associated Press via Facebook message that she was able to book a different hotel outside the park. She said she hoped the water restrictions would mean “less traffic and people.”

The 12.5 mile-long (20 kilometer-long) Transcanyon Waterline, originally built in the 1960s, supplies potable water for facilities on the South Rim and inner canyon. Park officials say it has exceeded its expected lifespan.

Since 2010, there have been more than 85 major breaks that disrupted water delivery, but none that have forced what park officials call “Stage 4” water restrictions. That is, until four recent significant breaks.

Under these water restrictions, visitors won’t be able to stay overnight starting Thursday, including at El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge and Phantom Ranch. The impacts weren’t immediately obvious on Wednesday night, as some hotel restaurants continued serving food and cars filled parking lots at the South Rim.

Hotels located outside the park in the town of Tusayan, Arizona, will not be impacted, and the park will remain open during the day.

Carved by the Colorado River and known for its vast desert landscapes, the Grand Canyon welcomed nearly 523,000 visitors last August and more than 466,000 visitors last September.

Josh Coddington, communications director at the