Hetch Hetchy Dome, at 6,197ft (1,889m), lies directly north of it. They poured an estimated total of more than 398,000 cubic yards (304,000 cubic meters) of concrete to form the dam. Congress, confronted with rising public opposition, refused to act on the measure. Dam Hetch Hetchy! 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. As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man . [2] From Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the water flows through the Canyon and Mountain Tunnels to Kirkwood and Moccasin Powerhouses, which have capacities of 124 and 110 megawatts, respectively. Slow-moving reservoirs heat up, resulting in abnormal temperature fluctuations which can affect sensitive species. Most people turn around here anyway. ", "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. [63] The city justified this as a temporary measure, but no attempt to follow through with completing the municipal grid was ever made. Muir observed:[3]. Its a a wonderful place to see spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. But tearing OShaughnessy Dam down now in order to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley would be a disaster. This limits their ability to access spawning habitat, seek out food resources, and escape predation. Other trails also continue to Lake Vernon. One route begins six miles beyond the entrance station. It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. No BS! In 1967 the Robert C. Kirkwood Powerhouse started commercial operation followed by a New Moccasin Powerhouse in 1969 when the Old Moccasin Powerhouse was taken out of service. However, the same NPS study also finds that with intensive management, an outcome in which "the entire valley would appear much as it did before construction of the reservoir" is feasible. O'Shaughnessy Dam is a 430-foot (131 m) high concrete arch-gravity dam in Tuolumne County, California, United States.It impounds the Tuolumne River, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, about 160 miles (260 km) east of San Francisco. [46], Work on the Hetch Hetchy Project began in 1914. If you love that insider feeling of discovering an often-overlooked gem, plan a stop at Buck Meadows on your way to or from Hetch Hetchy. But the reservoir has spared it some of the indignities of Yosemite Valley", "San Francisco Department of Elections, November 2012 Results", "San Francisco vote to study draining Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is defeated", "Hetch Hetchy Water and the Bay Area Economy", "Thesis: Water Supply Implications of Removing O'Shaughnessy Dam", "New Irvington Tunnel latest in Hetch Hetchy water system improvements", Current Conditions, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, California Department of Water Resources, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Hetch Hetchy Water and Power, California Resources Agency Hetch Hetchy Restoration Study, Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency on Hetch Hetchy dam, National Register of Historic Places in Yosemite National Park, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hetch_Hetchy&oldid=1131920349, History of the Sierra Nevada (United States), Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the National Park Service, Articles with dead external links from May 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Pages using infobox bridge with empty coordinates parameter, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from October 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 6 January 2023, at 11:49. Once again, the political pendulum had swung. . [5], The valley is fed by the Tuolumne River, Falls Creek, Tiltill Creek, Rancheria Creek, and numerous smaller streams which collectively drain a watershed of 459sqmi (1,190km2). Denouncing dam proponents as greedy, he wrote, These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the Mountains, life them to the Almighty Dollar. In spite of Muirs eloquent and heated objections, the Raker Act was signed into law in December of 1913. [28][29] About 1853, his brother, Joseph Screech (credited in some accounts for the original discovery of the valley)[27] blazed the first trail from Big Oak Flat, a mining camp near present-day Lake Don Pedro,[30] for 38mi (61km) northeast to Hetch Hetchy Valley. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. Hydroelectric power generated from the Hetch Hetchy project is largely sold to Bay Area customers through a private power company, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). In this unmanaged scenario, where nature is left to take hold in the valley, eventually a forest would grow, rather than the meadow being restored. Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, youll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. And it is the largest single source of water supply for the Bay Area. Smith Peak (7,751 feet) is the highest point in the area and offers outstanding views. (In fact partially because it is so difficult and destructive to build large dams, we are running out of new supplies of water in California.) Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river . 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. Buck Meadows is also a great place to spend the night. In the autumn of 1871, John Muir visited Hetch Hetchy for the first time. 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. This is why environmental impact statements, which were not required prior to 1969, are so important today. When changes are made there are unintended consequences. No picture of the giant sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park manages to fully capture their immense size and majesty. Muir predicted that this lake would create an unsightly "bathtub ring" around its perimeter, caused by the water's destruction of lichen growth on the canyon walls,[44] which would inevitably be visible at low lake levels. The trail to Wapama Falls is one of the most popular trails in the Hetch Hetchy area for a good reason. DWR also found that the planning studies necessary to refine the costs and benefits of restoration would cost $65 million alone. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. In the Bay Area, Hetch Hetchy water is stored in local facilities including Calaveras Reservoir, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and San Antonio Reservoir. strongly against restoration. Park entry (as needed). He said, So we come now face to face with the perfectly clean question of what is the best use to which this water that flows out of the Sierras can be put. As we all know, there is no use of water that is higher than the domestic use., He went on to say, We come straight to the question of whether the advantage of leaving this valley in a state of nature is greater than the advantage of using it for the benefit of the city of San Francisco.. Plus, they needed a way to bring supplies and workers into the mountains. Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. benefits of hetch hetchy dam. This was likely because of Hetch Hetchy's narrow outlet, which in years of heavy snowmelt created a bottleneck in the Tuolumne River and the subsequent flooding of the valley floor. The Sites Reservoir a $4.4 billion project to add dams and store more water that'll be sent south is still years away from completion. The water shunted through them about 218 million gallons a day arrives in most city taps by gravity alone. Hoover Dam. Hoffman observed a meadow "well timbered and affording good grazing", and noted the valley had a milder climate than Yosemite Valley, hence the abundance of ponderosa pine and gray pine. In some cases, however, including the Klamath and Hetch Hetchy, the benefits of restoration clearly outweigh the benefits provided by the dams. Have you been to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite? But during peak spring flow, the thundering waterfall can wash over the bridge making it dangerous to cross. Each switchback reveals scenic overlooks of the reservoir and Kolana Rock. Within 50 years, vegetative cover would be complete except for exposed rocky areas. Hetch Hetchy and many others were built by . Most of the dam would remain in place, both to avoid the enormous costs of demolition and removal, and to serve as a monument for the workers who built it. Photo: Chris Migeon Appreciate what nature created and what the city built there long ago. Bierstadts paintings and Muirs writings began to publicize the beauty of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. At full capacity, the reservoir stretches eight miles (13 km) upstream of the OShaughnessy Dam. "[81] Hodel, now retired, is still[when?] Due to extreme winter weather, Yosemite National Park is closed with no estimated date of reopening. It spans 900 feet (270 m) with a 17-foot (5.2 m) wide trail across the top that hikers use to cross to the opposite side. The larger issues at stake would frame environmental debates for years to come. Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. While the dialogue around the West's water wars has been concentrated on the Colorado River and the alarming decline of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, watersheds across the Western United States are feeling the effects of a rapidly aridifying landscape due to climate change. [30] After the valley's native inhabitants were driven out by the newcomers, it was used by ranchers, many of whom were former miners, to graze livestock. Standing upon it will give you the chance to appreciate the sublimity of both nature and human achievement. In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. The restoration of Hetch Hetchy would be a simple task compared to some dam removal efforts. RELATED: Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks. For your last day, enjoy a short hike on the shores of the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Start by hiking across the OShaughnessy Dam then turn east along the shore of the reservoir. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. RELATED: A Woman Started The Environmental Movement (Can It Continue?). The watershed is also strictly protected, so swimming and boating are prohibited at the reservoir (although fishing is permitted at the reservoir and in the rivers which feed it),[60] a measure which is considered unusual for US lakes outside the region. If their signature-gathering campaign is successful, a small group of environmental advocates, led by Restore Hetch Hetchy, will give you the opportunity this November to vote on a measure that would require the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to develop a plan to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The battle for Hetch Hetchy was perhaps the first effort at what is now known as "grassroots lobbying," getting individual citizens to contact elected officials in support . Dianne Feinstein, the mayor of San Francisco at the time, said in a Los Angeles Times story in 1987: "All this is for an expanded campground? San Francisco could flood the valley and work began the following year. Let us introduce you to some of the unique giant sequoia groves in the Yosemite Mariposa County area the Merced, Tuolumne, and Mariposa Groves are inside Yosemite National Park, and the Nelder Grove is just outside the park boundary to the south. [59] The water quality is high because of the unique geology of the upper Tuolumne River drainage basin, which consists mostly of bare granite; as a result, the rivers feeding Hetch Hetchy Reservoir have extremely low loads of sediments and nutrients. [31] Its meadows provided abundant feed for "thousands of head of sheep and cattle that entered lean and lank in the spring, but left rolling fat and hardly able to negotiate the precipitous and difficult defiles out of the mountains in the fall. Following a fierce nationwide debate led by John Muir and Will Colby of the Sierra Club, the City of San Francisco was authorized by the U.S. Congress, in the Raker Act of 1913, to construct a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. But if you still have energy, continue past the bridge to Rancheria Falls. Franklin Lane served as the attorney for the city of San Francisco in 1903. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir itself store 85% of the City's overall drinking water supply, the remaining 15% is stored in the system's 5 other reservoirs. If the dam were not to be built, it would only benefit the small percentage of Americans who actually visited the site and were concerned about the park's pristine condition. The SFPUC and other Hetch Hetchy users are currently implementing plans to meet this demand through recycled water, groundwater and conservation. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . You could then scuba ElCapitan down to the valley floor. 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. The controversy over damming Hetch Hetchy became mired in the political issues of the day. [50] The removal of the dam would be extremely costly, at least $310 billion,[76] and the transport of the demolished material away from the dam site along the narrow, winding Hetch Hetchy Road would be a logistical nightmare with possible environmental impacts. This effort was famously and vociferously fought by John Muir and was the subject of a national debate for years; the loss later galvanized the Sierra Club to successfully oppose large dams in Dinosaur National Monument and Grand Canyon National Park. Hetch Hetchy is unique because of its small holding capacity in comparison to the vast watershed feeding it. Friday, enjoy an evening about bats starting at 7 pm. [45], The controversy over Hetch Hetchy was in the context of other political scandals and controversies, especially prevalent in the Taft administration. [48], The Early Intake (Lower Cherry) Powerhouse began commercial operation five years before the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed. The dam is a small portion of the overall Tuolumne River/San Francisco storage system that benefits the Bay Area. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. California O Shaughnessy Dam Analysis 1428 Words | 6 Pages. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. Over the next decade, he produced fifteen large oils that transformed the valley into a dreamland unlike anything that ever met mortal eye.. The new. Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages Native American cultures were prominent before the 1850s when the first settlers from the United States arrived in the Sierra Nevada. In: Educational Resources, History, National Parks, Your email address will not be published. Hetch Hetchy is an iconic, rare and spectacular landscape, Hetch Hetchy is part of Yosemite National Park and its damming and flooding is by far the worst destruction of our national parks have ever experienced Restoration would not only make Yosemite whole once again it would inspire people that we don't need to live with mistakes of the past" 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. Back in the early nineteen hundreds, when the debate start about The Hetch Hetchy dam being built a large majority of people did not realize or care how valuable nature is. The reservoir is fed by the Tuolumne River. Located at 3,900 feet, it boasts one of the longest hiking seasons in the park. A recent report evaluates the economic benefits of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. (Source: American Rivers, How Dams Damage Rivers). Rounding the corner and catching the first glimpses of Hetch Hetchy Valley reveals the play of light on water. Proponents of the dam replied that out of multiple sites considered by San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy had the "perfect architecture for a reservoir",[43] with pristine water, lack of development or private property, a steep-sided and flat-floored profile that would maximize the amount of water stored, and a narrow outlet ideal for placement of a dam. The Hetch Hetchy system's supporters say it has one of the smallest carbon footprints of any water system in the United States because its water is of such high quality that it requires no. The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. [70] Hodel called for a study of the effect of tearing down the dam. This time it was in favor those who wanted to preserve the valley for generations yet to come. Had it been, the Sierra Clubs members would have presented a united front in opposition to its development. Richard Ballinger was a conservative who was one of the main characters who was responsible for the progressive-conservative split in the GOP in 1912 (leading to the creation of the Bull Moose party), which is the factor that determined the GOP would be on the right side of the political spectrum (and therefore ensuring the Democrats would be on the left side of the spectrum). This time, in favor of those who wanted to build the dam. [3] Kolana Rock, at 5,772ft (1,759m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. 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. To get the electricity they would need, they first built a smaller dam at Lake Eleanor. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. Without Hetch Hetchy as its primary reservoir, San Francisco will be forced to pump and filter its water for the first time in a century, and lose out on the 726 million kilowatt-hours produced by . Five country-chic rooms in the main building include en suite bathrooms, free WiFi and electric fireplaces. A) human well-being B) renewable energy C) environmental sustainability D) cultural services E) human population growth, The current total world population has just passed ________. Application Opening: February 10, 2023 Application Filing Deadline: March 3, 2023 Hourly Compensation: $27.3125 Recruitment ID: RTF0131751-01138303 (131752) APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Exempt: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. Building the Hetch Hetchy dam in such a remote location was an enormous project. [36] Muir's friend Robert Underwood Johnson of the politically influential Century Magazine and several other prominent figures were inspired by Muir's work and helped to get Yosemite National Park established by October 1, 1890. The . 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. For thousands of years, Native Americans subjected the valley to controlled bushfires, which prevented forest from taking over the valley meadows. [35] Muir, who himself had briefly worked as a shepherd in Hetch Hetchy, was known for calling sheep "hoofed locusts" because of their environmental impact. Would that be an improvement? For instance, the WET company helps people see the beauty of water through magnificent water fountains. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13 km). 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. In the distance, long white plumes of water cascade hundreds of feet down from rocky heights. A national debate ensued between the preservationist and conservationist factions of the young environmental movement.
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