An Arizona town near the Grand Canyon is experiencing what many in the Southwest have seen in recent years. A lack of rainfall leading to a devastating water shortage. Williams, AZ is located about 60 miles from the Grand Canyon’s South Rim and like Magdalena, NM and other New Mexico towns recently, the town is clamping down on water use. Residents caught watering lawns or washing cars with potable water can be fined. Businesses are hauling water from outside town to fill swimming pools, and building permits have been put on hold because there isn’t enough water to accommodate development.
The rains have been limited over the last six plus years across the Southwest. California has seen more than dozen towns run out of water, so much so that local sheriffs were arresting water bandits trying to steal water from a local lake. Magdalena, New Mexico saw water level drop to the point that water had to be shipped from Socorro and Albuquerque. We even had to cancel VBS and the Old Timers celebration. There have been other water brown outs in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
Officials in Williams jumped straight to the most severe restrictions after receiving only about 6 inches of precipitation from October to April – about half of normal levels – and a bleak forecast that doesn’t include much rain. City leaders acknowledge the move is extreme but say it’s the only way to make the city has enough water to survive.
“We knew we had to take some action to preserve the water,” Mayor John Moore said.
Reservoirs that supply residents’ taps are so low that they reveal tree stumps, plants and cracked earth once submerged by water.
Businesses are feeling the effects, too. The Grand Canyon Railway, which shuttles tourists from Williams to the national park, is using water recycled from rainfall, drained from a hotel pool and wastewater purchased in nearby Flagstaff to irrigate its landscaping and run steam engines.
