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visitors hopefully engrossed in oneself Grand Canyon’s South Edge will find all night long Stays at its historic hotels and lodges have been suspended since Saturday. The drastic step comes after repeated breaks in the park’s only water line, forcing officials to conserve severely limited resources as no water is being pumped into the area.
This is only the second time the park has been forced to close overnight accommodation due to water supply issues, a problem that has recurred as the pipeline has outlived its expected lifespan and frequently fails. The fragility of the infrastructure was also evident in August 2024, when unprecedented water restrictions led to a sudden halt to overnight hotel stays during the peak season.
Under current restrictions, visitors cannot stay at locations including the El Tovar Hotel, Bright Angel Lodge and Masvik Lodge, and water is not available at campgrounds. For park staff and the 2,500 year-round residents of Grand Canyon Village, that means shorter showers, less flushing of toilets and less turning off the taps when shaving or brushing teeth.
How long will the wait be? Park officials hope it won’t take much time.
“If all planned work moves forward without any additional issues, we expect to be able to restore water service and reopen overnight accommodations early next week,” park spokesman Joel Baird said in an email.
Despite fresh snowfall on Wednesday, welding repairs were underway, and the repair schedule called for flushing and recharging the system in the coming days.
In the meantime, day visitors are still welcome, and accommodation is available outside the park.
While winter is a slow season, more than 41,000 people used overnight stays in the park last December. Overall, the Grand Canyon is expected to see about 5 million visitors in 2024, about 90 percent of whom visit the South Rim.
The 12.5-mile-long (20 kilometers long) Transcanyon Waterline is the primary water source for park residents, staff, and tourists. Originally built in the 1960s, it has been a maintenance priority over the years, and a portion of the park admission fee is set aside to help with the costs.
A $208 million rehabilitation of the pipeline and upgrades to the associated water distribution system began in 2023. National Park Service It was described as an important investment to ensure that the park can meet the needs of residents and visitors. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.