. A Dam Removal in Progress. No spam. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. [24] It is likely that the edible grass was blue dicks. High temperatures prevail in summer months, but that is a small price to pay for the reward of vast wilderness filled with stunning peaks, hidden canyons, and remote lakes. Environmentalists lost what was the opening battle in a fight to preserve Americas natural wonders. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is 430-foot (131 m) high made of concrete and it is named after engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy, who oversaw the entire construction. Hetch Hetchy - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) History - Hetch Hetchy - Sierra Club For functional purposes, Hetch Hetchy was a promising solution to San Francisco's serious water shortages. Three strikes for San Francisco | Restore Hetch Hetchy The dam and reservoir, combined with a series of aqueducts, tunnels, and hydroelectric plants as well as eight other storage dams, comprise a system known as the Hetch Hetchy Project, which provides 80% of the water supply for 2.6 million people. Those who did visit it were enchanted by its scenery, but encountered difficulties with the primitive conditions and, in summertime, swarms of mosquitoes. Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the valley the perfect location for a dam. As of 2013, the water storage and hydroelectric power supplied by the Hetch Hetchy Project serviced an estimated 2.6 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Water System | SFPUC The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . Through the manipulation of water, the company also had the power to determine which real estate became valuable and which languished. Call 209-372-0200 for the latest road and weather conditions, Hetch Hetchy Road Daily Hours: 8 am to 5 pm. Why We Need Hetch Hetchy More Than Ever | SPUR The Hetch Hetchy watershed, an area located in Yosemite National Park, is the major source of water for all of San Francisco's water needs. "[22], The valley's name may be derived from a Miwok word earlier anglicized as hatchhatchie, which means "edible grasses"[8][23] or "magpie". Us too! [24] Screech reported that the valley was bitterly disputed between the "Pah Utah Indians" (Paiute) and "Big Creek Indians" (Miwok), and witnessed several fights in which the Paiute appeared to be the dominant tribe. Would there be any room in an acquisitive society for wildness, or for non material spiritual values?. The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. Hetch Hetchy is on the main stem of the Tuolumne River and is part of the Tuolumne watershed. [73] Furthermore, the removal of O'Shaughnessy Dam would not require costly sediment control measures, as would be typical on most dam removal projects, because of the high quality of the Tuolumne River water in the first 90 years since its construction, only around 2in (5.1cm) of sediment had been deposited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, much less than most other dams. A large part of today's incentive for restoration is that when the dam and the Hetch Hetchy reservoir were authorized by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, as the Raker Act, the Hetch Hetchy Valley . Then, in 1906, a devastating earthquake caused a series of fires in San Francisco that destroyed 25,000 buildings across 490 city blocks. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. What Happens When You Remove a Dam? - Hetch Hetchy Reservoir [citation needed] The George W. Bush administration proposed allocating $7 million to studying the removal of the dam in the 2007 National Park Service budget. Yosemite's Secret Valley - Hetch Hetchy - YouTube There is no Starbucks here no daily parade of tour buses and RVs. This can be very disorienting to fish and disrupt their migrations as they depend on steady streams and flows to guide them. Indeed, Hetch Hetchy today[when?] Photo: Kim Lawson. Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. From our petition "The cost of replacing water storage in Hetch Hetchy Valley to maintain the current levels of water service and electrical power production by CCSF would be approximately 2 billion dollars, including 199 million dollars for additional interties, 372 million dollars for water supply, 387 million dollars for water treatment, 669 About one million years ago, the extensive Sherwin glaciation widened, deepened and straightened river valleys along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, including Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley, and Kings Canyon farther to the south. Just before reaching the Bay Area, it passes through the Irvington tunnel near the city of Fremont, and the aqueduct splits into four pipelines at 373253N 1215555W / 37.548104N 121.932041W / 37.548104; -121.932041. Like Muir, she felt the beauty of the valley was a national treasure which ought to be preserved. Furthermore, they provided a place for the wild plants and creatures to live out their own lives, according to their purposes. During summer, people of the Miwok and Paiute came to Hetch Hetchy from the Central Valley in the west and the Great Basin in the east. Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley are so similar because they were created by the same sequences of geological activity. The walls of both are of gray granite, rise abruptly out of the flowery grass and groves are sculptured in the same style, and in both every rock is a glacial monument., (Source: Journal of Sierra Nevada History & Biography, Hetch-Hetchy, Natural History Before The Dam, Joe Medeiros), In defense of Hetch Hetchy, Muir crafted some of his most famous prose. The other route begins at the entrance station and is 16 miles round-trip with 3,300 feet of elevation gain. While the debate goes on, Hetch Hetchy remains a relaxing and often-overlooked corner of the park - much to the delight of hikers and backpackers who prefer less touristy experiences. There are many places to stop and enjoy views of the rushing water before turning around to return to your car. Had it been, the Sierra Clubs members would have presented a united front in opposition to its development. Most importantly, San Francisco would lose its source of high-quality mountain water, and would have to depend on lower-quality water from other reservoirs which would require costly filtration and re-engineering of the aqueduct system to meet its needs. If, on the other hand, San Francisco gained control, it would signal in important victory for public power resulting in lower rates for the people. Such new supplies are not guaranteed to have the low greenhouse gas emissions profile that Hetch Hetchy water and power do and they could worsen climate change while increasing our vulnerability to it. From 1901 - 1913, John Muir led the Sierra Club in a campaign to protect the Hetch Hetchy Valley, a part of Yosemite National Park, from being filled by a reservoir. The Tuolumne River continues through Tuolumne Meadows and the associated park developments at an elevation of 8,600 feet. [69], In 1987, the idea of razing the O'Shaughnessy Dam gained an adherent in Don Hodel, Secretary of the Department of the Interior under President Ronald Reagan. ", "Fall in the Main Tuolumne River at the Head of Hetch Hetchy Valley", "Fly Fishing Poopenaut Valley Tuolumne River", "Screech Brothers Find Hetch Hetchy Valley", "Big Oak Flat (No. The new 68-mile (109 km) railroad wound its way up the narrow canyon of the Tuolumne River past sharp curves and up steep 4% grades. Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages [8], Before damming, the valley floor contained abundant stands of black oaks, live oak, Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and silver fir bordering the meadows, with alder, willow, poplar and dogwood in the riparian zone along the Tuolumne River. [21][33] Albert Bierstadt, Charles Dorman Robinson and William Keith were known for their landscapes that drew tourists to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. But Hetch Hetchy was a federally protected as part of Yosemite National Park. The controversy over damming Hetch Hetchy became mired in the political issues of the day. The Dam Rent Is Too Low - PERC As well dam for water tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.'. [46], Work on the Hetch Hetchy Project began in 1914. Finally, in 1988, a third generator was added to the Kirkwood Powerhouse. Once again, the political pendulum would swing. He had journeyed to Washington to lobby the federal government on behalf of the project. Here are just some of the hurdles we would need to cross: Identify water supplies to meet about 18 percent of the regions water demand in dry years (which occur about 20 percent of the time), Permit and build 40 to 90 megawatts of renewable power to supply almost all municipal demand in San Francisco, Build and operate a water-filtration plant, because water stored further downstream than Hetch Hetchy will have to be filtered, Engineer and design a series of expensive and complicated infrastructure projects to re-engineer major components of the regional water system, then get those changes through the environmental review process, Somehow convince senior water-right holders like the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts on the Tuolumne River to let us store our drinking water in their reservoirs. They would light upon a man's blue shirt and turn it brown, and were voracious as mosquitoes would be. What one Secretary of the Interior giveth, another taketh away. Could you imagine building a dam inside a national park today? This reservoir on the Sacramento River has been planned for decades Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. As a result, San Francisco secured a reliable and . It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. In spite of Muirs eloquent and heated objections, the Raker Act was signed into law in December of 1913. A bigger population will increase demand, meanwhile climate change could significantly reduce supply through drought and hydrological cycle changes. San Francisco assumed from the outset that there would not be significant opposition to using the Hetch Hetchy Valley, even if it was in a national park, for the high and noble purpose of providing water to one of the nations great and growing metropolises, so their efforts in Washington, DC, were conducted discreetly. Owned by the city of San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir provides water to 2.7 million residents and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not only does it supply 85 percent of the water for 2.6 million people in San Francisco, controlled releases via the O'Shaughnessy Dam are helping preserve downstream specieseven in dry years. Historians of the American conservation movement regard Pinchot as the foremost exemplar of the utilitarian approach to conservation, according to which man has a right to use natural resources, but also an obligation to use them wisely and efficientlyor as the classic criterion put it, the greatest good for the greatest number over the long run. As applied to forests and espoused by Pinchot, this meant that the nations forest reserves ought not to be maintained as inviolate sanctuaries, but opened to enlightened management.. [13], Hetch Hetchy is home to a diverse array of plants and animals. [63] The city justified this as a temporary measure, but no attempt to follow through with completing the municipal grid was ever made. But Sites would be what's called an off-channel reservoir, built away from the river. [82] Dianne Feinstein opposed this allocation, saying, "I will do all I can to make sure it isn't included in the final bill. Photo: Theresa Ho, Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson appointed Lane his Secretary of the Interior. Even if we could obtain the several billion dollars necessary to carry out this endeavor (neither private nor public sources have yet been identified) some of the tasks involved may not even be possible. John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, condemned plans to build the dam, saying, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! Hetch Hetchy is unique because of its small holding capacity in comparison to the vast watershed feeding it. Hetch Hetchy Water & Power plans five-year $140M Mountain Tunnel Hours: Year-round, but only accessible by car when the Hetch Hetchy Road is open. [58], Water from Hetch Hetchy is some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States; San Francisco is one of six U.S. cities not required by law to filter its tap water, although the water is disinfected by ozonation and, since 2011, exposure to UV. GROVELAND,CA San Francisco may be required to pay more rent to the federal government for water from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir or even tear down the O'Shaughnessy Dam. SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 | (415) 781-8726 | [emailprotected], 2023 SPUR Privacy Policy 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Tax Identification: 94-1498232, a member-supported nonprofit organization. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music. It would be almost impossible to build a new dam there today. The proposed study would also have been required to identify potential replacements for the water storage capacity and hydroelectric power production.[87][88]. Dams, including this one, dont last forever, and perhaps in a few generations the conversation about a different future for the Hetch Hetchy Valley may be worthwhile. The proposed ballot measure calls for the creation of a task force that would spend $8 million to develop a long-term plan for improving water quality and reliability, remediating environmental damages caused by the water supply system, and identifying new water and renewable energy supplies so that Hetch Hetchy Valley could be returned to the National Park Service. . Hiking Hetch Hetchy: the unknown Yosemite National Park - 2TravelDads The exploitation of Californias natural resources continued unabated in the years leading up to Hetch Hetchy.