| Grand Canyon National Park Announces Projected Dates for Restoring Water to South Rim
GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — Grand Canyon National Park today announced tentative dates for the restoration of water services to the South Rim residences and concessionaires within the park.
Based upon construction timetables, the National Park Service Incident Management Team projects the park will be able to start pumping water by Nov. 16 from the Bright Angel Creek intake to the new water treatment plant. The National Park Service estimates distribution from the new treatment plant to residents will begin by Thanksgiving, allowing concessionaires to begin a phased approach to providing services to overnight guests at that time. These dates are tentative and residents and concessionaires will be notified as construction is completed.
The park is working on an agreement to haul approximately 200,000 gallons of water per day to replenish the water storage tanks. If finalized, this agreement would stabilize the tank levels and enable the park to maintain operations through the projected date to start pumping, assuming the current water usage of about 137,000 gallons per day stays steady.
Once the pumps start drawing water from Bright Angel Creek, it will take about 45 days to fully fill the tanks.
It is important to remember that these are all estimated dates and could change as circumstances dictate. The current water emergency was caused by a flash flood on Aug. 29, which destroyed a water intake pump and other infrastructure. The flood caused extensive damage to the legacy Transcanyon Waterline, including approximately 40% of the old pipeline between the Phantom Ranch area and the North Rim. The Bright Angel Creek and Roaring Springs intake areas also sustained significant damage.
While repairs move forward, water conservation remains critical.
Stage 4 water restrictions remain in effect. Visitors and residents are asked to conserve water by using designated portable bathrooms, handwashing stations and potable water tanks. When possible, visitors are asked to bring their own water for drinking and other needs.
Grand Canyon National Park remains open on both the South Rim and North Rim. Visitors should expect modified operations and closures in affected inner-canyon areas and should check current park conditions before traveling. Visitors to the South Rim are encouraged to arrive prepared with drinking water and to conserve water throughout their visit.
Grand Canyon National Park will continue providing updates as work progresses.
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Free community showers
Free shower facilities are available to Grand Canyon residents until further notice. Residents are strongly encouraged to use these facilities whenever possible to reduce household water use and help conserve the park’s limited water supply. This week ADA showers were also placed at four locations throughout the park.
Locations
- 63 Sunset Drive
- Albright Training Center parking lot (ADA shower now available)
- Maswik North
- Desert View along Cedar Mountain Road (ADA shower now available)
- Trailer Village, near L Street (ADA shower now available)
- 38 Coconino Street
- Supai Camp (ADA shower now available)
Hours
- 6 a.m.-noon
- Closed noon-2 p.m. for cleaning
- 2-9 p.m.
Residents should bring their own toiletries, including soap and shampoo. Toiletries are not provided. Shower shoes are encouraged.
The average shower uses approximately 17 gallons of water. Using the community shower facilities instead of showering at home can help significantly reduce household water use.
Free community laundry service
The Incident Management Team has partnered with a contracted laundry service to provide free laundry services to Grand Canyon residents during the ongoing water conservation efforts. Laundry services are available at 2 Albright and Maswik North. Both locations are open to the entire community.
Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. daily
Turnaround: Approximately 24 hours
Cost: Free
When dropping off laundry, residents will need to provide their name and phone number. The laundry service will contact them when the laundry is ready for pickup.
Laundry detergent provided through the service is unscented and hypoallergenic.
Residents are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this free service.Using the contracted laundry service reduces the amount of water used by individual households and helps protect the limited water resources available to the community.
Other incident updates
We encourage all community members to subscribe to both of the Incident Management Team’s information platforms to receive the latest updates.
Everbridge: Sign up to receive periodic community messages, including water usage updates, water distribution information and other important updates. Messages can be received by text, phone call or email: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/KVCYx2hh58
Weekly IMT emails and news releases: Subscribe to receive the Incident Management Team’s weekly community updates and news releases: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/7tL6QgYqc2
The park will also continue providing updates through its social media channels. Community meetings will be scheduled when the team has new information or additional updates to share.
Community members can submit questions, comments and feedback through the community feedback form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/c7A35xrMdC |
