Water Pipeline Development In Grand Canyon? (Back to Water Program Index)

A proposal to construct a pipeline to bring water from Grand Canyon to coal mines on the Hopi Indian reservation has received enormous attention recently. Federal legislation was proposed that would clear the way for a Grand Canyon pipeline project by allowing the Fort McDowell Indian Community to lease 6,500 acre-feet of Colorado River water to support Black Mesa mine on the Hopi reservation owned by Peabody Coal.

According to a Bureau of Reclamation report, the project would involve drilling 1,200-foot shafts in the canyon rim at Jackass Canyon, a popular hiking spot within Grand Canyon. It would also entail constructing storage tanks and pumping stations in the canyon.

Currently, Peabody Coal sends coal to the Mohave Generating Plant in Nevada by mixing it with water from an aquifer beneath the Hopi reservation and piping the slurry to the plant. Because the aquifer provides the tribe’s only source of drinking water, an alternative to groundwater pumping must be found. However, the Grand Canyon Trust vehemently opposes this $125 million Grand Canyon water project. It is completely at odds with the values of Grand Canyon National Park, being inconsistent with wilderness management, environmental and cultural protections, and recreational uses.

The Trust’s position is that all alternatives (except this one) to solving the Peabody/Black Mesa coal issue should be examined. Better alternatives include: a recycling pipeline that would return water from the plant to the mine for reuse and a rail system that would move the coal without the need for water.

Fortunately, the proposed legislation has recently been withdrawn, but the issue of finding an alternative to Peabody Coal’s destructive groundwater pumping from Black Mesa remains.

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