Grand Canyon water pipeline damaged again as flooding complicates repairs

The one pipeline that supplies water for millions of visitors in Grand Canyon was badly damaged by flash flooding over the weekend, setting up a complicated repair scenario and disrupting a yearslong project to upgrade the aging line across rugged terrain where helicopters are often needed for even basic maintenance.

Park officials estimate after conducting flyovers that about 40% of the pipeline sustained damage.

The 12.5-mile long Transcanyon Waterline has suffered dozens of breaks in recent years.

A more than $200 million repair and replacement project was well underway when the floods began.

The long-term impacts on the park’s infrastructure, visitors and year-round residents were not immediately clear.

BELOVED TEXAS CHIROPRACTOR KILLED IN GRAND CANYON FLASH FLOOD, 2 FRIENDS STILL MISSING AFTER HIKE "We anticipate miles of the pipeline being destroyed," Grand Canyon Deputy Superintendent Brian Drapeaux said.

A full survey of the devastation will not be completed until Tuesday at the earliest.

At least two people died in the floods, and one person remained missing as of Monday night after roughly 80 people were rescued over the weekend, according to officials.

The park stopped overnight accommodations, with officials saying significant water reductions are needed.

This includes limiting shower time, turning off the tap while brushing teeth and flushing toilets selectively to protect the limited stored water on the South Rim, where most visitors frequent.

"They have got to keep law enforcement going, they have to keep rescue operations going, backcountry operations, park admin going, the clinic and the campground," longtime river runner and Grand Canyon hiker Tom Martin said, adding that the park has hauled water in tanker trucks in the past.

The pipeline, which was completed in the 1970s, has broken more than 85 times since 2010.

The pipeline moves water from one side of the canyon, down to its base, across a bridge and back up the other side of the rough landscape.

Any attempt to fix a break from rock falls or flash floods is precarious and costly and can take time, so fixing the latest damage will be complicated.