Grand Canyon National Park is facing a major crisis this winter as a broken water pipeline forces every hotel and lodge on the South Rim to close, starting December 6. The park relies on a single 12.5-mile pipeline called the Transcanyon Waterline to bring drinking water from Roaring Springs to visitor areas on the canyon’s busiest side.
This pipeline, built in the 1960s, has failed repeatedly in recent years, and the latest breaks have forced officials to shut down all overnight lodging until crews repair the damage. Seven properties, including the famous El Tovar Hotel, which opened in 1905, must close. Xanterra manages five of these hotels: El Tovar, Bright Angel Lodge, Maswik Lodge, Kachina Lodge, and Thunderbird Lodge.
Delaware North operates Yavapai Lodge and Trailer Village RV Park. Phantom Ranch in the inner canyon also closed on December 2. This marks only the second time in history that a water system failure has resulted in the complete shutdown of all South Rim lodging. The aging pipeline has become a major liability for one of America’s most visited landscapes.
Pipeline Infrastructure Struggles Against Damage and Decay
The Transcanyon Waterline struggles in harsh canyon conditions. Construction crews began building the aluminum pipeline in January 1965 to carry water across hazardous, narrow sections of the canyon. Just one year after installation, a massive flood in December 1966 destroyed about 40 percent of the newly built pipe, revealing the system’s weakness from the start.
Since 2010, the pipeline has suffered more than 85 major breaks. Each repair costs roughly $25,000 on average and requires workers to navigate treacherous terrain and extreme heat. In 2024, four major breaks occurred over Labor Day weekend, forcing the park to restrict water and cancel several hotel bookings for about a week.
The National Park Service launched a $208 million rehabilitation project in 2023 to rebuild the water system, with a target completion date of 2027. This project relocates the water intake from Roaring Springs to Bright Angel Creek near Phantom Ranch, replaces three miles of old pipeline, constructs a new treatment plant capable of handling one million gallons per day, and upgrades power lines throughout the challenging landscape.
Officials hope to reopen overnight lodging as early as next week, though they warn water restrictions may continue through December 8.
Economic Damage Threatens Workers and Local Communities
The hotel closure threatens thousands of jobs and disrupts the economy of surrounding communities that depend entirely on Grand Canyon tourism. Xanterra typically employs between 700 and 1,100 people to operate hotels, restaurants, shops, tours, and maintenance services, while Delaware North adds hundreds more workers at Yavapai Lodge and food outlets.
When you include park residents and businesses in Tusayan tourism researchers estimate the shutdown jeopardizes more than 3,000 livelihoods. Tusayan has more than 1,000 hotel rooms and relies almost completely on visitors who stay overnight before exploring the canyon.
In 2024 alone, 4.9 million people visited Grand Canyon National Park, spending $905 million in surrounding communities, which supported 8,780 jobs and generated a total economic output of $1.14 billion. Nearly half of all jobs in Tusayan depend on serving tourists. A prolonged hotel closure could devastate this town and the workers who depend on it.
The Dragon Bravo Fire destroyed the North Rim’s historic Grand Canyon Lodge in July 2025, leaving the North Rim closed for the entire 2025 season. With the North Rim already closed, the South Rim closure means the canyon has no overnight lodging options on either side. Concessioners scrambled to rebook guests at nearby Tusayan hotels, offering full refunds or alternative accommodations at The Grand Hotel and The Squire.
The park remains open for day visits, with food outlets, the clinic, post office, and Mather Campground continuing to operate, though water restrictions apply. This crisis highlights the fragility of prosperity when a single aging pipeline fails to deliver essential services to one of America’s most important natural treasures.
Sources
National Park Service, “Grand Canyon National Park: Transcanyon Waterline Rehabilitation Project Overview”
National Park Service, “Visitor Spending Effects for Grand Canyon National Park, 2024”
Arizona Office of Tourism, “Economic Impact of Tourism in Coconino County and Tusayan”
U.S. Department of the Interior, “National Parks: Economic Impacts of Visitor Spending, 2024 Report”
Grand Canyon National Park News Release, “Emergency Water Conservation Measures and South Rim Facility Impacts, August 2024”
InciWeb, “Dragon Bravo Fire Incident Overview, Grand Canyon National Park, 2025”