As the weather heats up, hikers in the West Valley should be extra cautious when going to White Tank Mountain Regional Park this week. The county-run park has to shut off the water to repair a leak by Friday.
The water shutoff will affect the White Tank library and nearly 30,000-acre park near Buckeye.
As a result, the indoor bathrooms in the library won’t work, and there will be no drinkable water available for anyone using the forty miles of trails.
Regional Park Superintendent Jennifer Johnston expects the repairs to be finished by the end of the week.
“It’s a water leak in our main water line and we tend to have these in all of our parks on occasion and we have an aging infrastructure, so most likely the cause is due to old pipes.”
Johnston said there will be portable toilets available and that hikers should bring enough water for themselves.
Johnston said there are typically fewer hikers and campers this time of year, but, those who do come to the park should be expected to bring their own water.
“We will have signage in our entry station telling people about the lack of water and potable water in the park and we also have an alert on our website.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct Jennifer Johnston’s title and the type of water hikers should bring.
