A New Water System for Yosemite's Bridalveil Creek Campground

NPS/Matt Outhier.

Yosemite National Park is rebuilding the water system of Bridalveil Creek Campground with money from the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), replacing the groundwater treatment vault, the chlorination system and 11,586 feet of water lines.

The campground

The only campground on Glacier Point Road, Bridalveil Creek serves nearly 40,000 visitors in its 90-day season, with 108 campsites, two group sites, four comfort stations, a horse camp, and a major trailhead for popular backpacking trips and day hikes.

The project

Dates and costs are estimates and may change.

The system uses about 2,000 gallons a day on average but can produce only 5,400 at most, and its underground drinking-water tank is rusted and out of code. The project will:

• replace it with a 10,000-gallon above-ground tank to meet peak demand;
• replace water mains and the lines to every campground facility, and add several drinking-water spigots;
• install five water meters so staff can track use and leaks and know when to conserve;
• remove the risk of permit violations and of exposing visitors to pathogens, bringing the system into line with federal code and the California State Water Quality Board;
• end the risk of outages from old pipes and equipment, and eliminate more than $3 million of deferred maintenance and costly emergency repairs.

Clean water also matters downstream: water from the area feeds Bridalveil Fall and the protected Wild and Scenic Merced River.

Sources

• National Park Service, Yosemite National Park, "Bridalveil Creek Campground Water Distribution System in Yosemite National Park to be Rehabilitated through GAOA Funds." https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/gaoa-bridalveil-creek-campground.htm