Water delivery to Grand Canyon National Park began Sunday over a month after flash flooding damaged much of the park’s water intake infrastructure.
About 30,000 gallons of water was delivered to the park on Sunday afternoon, with deliveries to increase over the next several days, according to the Incident Management Team for the Bright Angel Creek Flash Flood response.
“The IMT has successfully contracted for approximately 200,000 gallons of water to be delivered daily in order to slow the decline of water levels for the park's water holding system. Stage 4 water restrictions will remain in place; visitors and residents are urged to continue to conserve water. The amount of water being trucked in is not enough to replenish and raise water levels; it is only enough to slow the decline of water levels until the new water system can be brought online,” the National Park Service said in a press release.
Officials noted that extensive testing has shown the delivered water is compatible with the Grand Canyon National Park water system. The Incident Management Team, working with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Public Health Service's Public Health Protection Branch, verified that the water will not negatively affect the system's pipes and complies with all applicable laws.
Per officials, 30 trucks will deliver water each day. With the deliveries, residents are being alerted of potential traffic in the immediate area.
