"Grand Canyon National Park's water pipeline was among the Interior Department's most ambitious projects in the 1960s.

The 16-mile aluminum pipeline captures water gushing from a cave thousands of feet below the North Rim, snakes to the canyon floor, then surges up the arid South Rim to quench the thirst of 4.8 million park visitors every year.

It's still the park's only source of drinking water, but the pipeline is decades past its anticipated service life. Its frequent breakdowns -- as many as 30 a year -- keep park plumbers busy."

Phil Taylor reports for Greenwire December 2, 2015. [2]