The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir also serves to provide energy in the form of hydroelectricity, with a capacity of over 200 megawatts a year. The San Francisco Bulletin printed a Dec. 1, 1913, story calling the bills opponents a crowd ofnature lovers and fakers, who are waging a sentimental campaign to preserve the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a public playground, a purpose for which it has never been used.. The gently rolling terrain has excellent views of the water and eye-catching Kolana Rock, which towers roughly 2,000 feet above. And Hetch Hetchy's damming has inspired generations of conservationists to protect our natural heritage and to commit to safeguarding our protected areas. Second, dams slow rivers. The imputed motive was to divide the environmental movement: to see residents of the strongly Democratic city of San Francisco coming out against an environmental issue. The chief began packing up and, when Nate asked him why, he replied, The valley is yours now., Far below them, the river cascaded into a peaceful valley floor, a heavenly setting similar to that of the main Yosemite Valley. Within three years, Congress had passed the Organic Act, formally defining the parks and creating a new federal agency, the National Park Service, with a mission: to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.. Photo: Theresa Ho, Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. [5] Chief Tenaya of the Yosemite Valley's Ahwaneechee tribe claimed that Hetch Hetchy was Miwok for "Valley of the Two Trees", referring to a pair of yellow pines that once stood at the head of Hetch Hetchy. It's dumb, dumb, dumb. Glaciers followed these low-points, leaving their own marks in particular carving out the characteristic U-shaped valley with steep sides and wide floor. But Hetch Hetchy was a federally protected as part of Yosemite National Park. Loss of the reservoir would decrease the Bay Areas water and energy security, requiring new water storage (possibly in reservoirs not owned by San Francisco) and the development of new water and energy supplies. 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. It involved the unintended consequences of efforts to shape the environment to meet human needs. Yosemite Westgate Lodge offers newly-remodeled and well-appointed modern accommodation. So visit Hetch Hetchy. A) 5 billion B . Could you imagine building a dam inside a national park today? The dam also provides flood control, irrigation, and water storage along the Colorado River. Friday, enjoy an evening about bats starting at 7 pm. Enjoy elegant touches like wrap-around porches, and fresh-baked cookies served daily. After Hetch Hetchy, many realized the National Parks needed more protection. The Tuolumne River continues through Tuolumne Meadows and the associated park developments at an elevation of 8,600 feet. [84] Karin Klein has described Yosemite Valley as "so crammed that it looks more like a ripstop ghetto than the site of a nature experience. 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. Get SPUR news and events delivered straight to your email inbox. 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 . Building the Dam. 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). California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. . They were both initially carved by rivers flowing down the Sierras relatively gentle western slope. [71], The dam would not have to be completely removed; rather, it would only be necessary to cut a hole through the base in order to drain the water and restore natural flows of the Tuolumne River. [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. An advantage which Phelan, Pinchot and other supporters of the dam project enjoyed was a divided opposition. National opinion divided between giving San Francisco the right to dam the valley and preserving the valley from development. The idea of punching a hole in or removing the dam and allowing the valley to be restored to its pre-development conditions has been around since the late 1980s. 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. The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths. Those in favor of dam removal have pointed out that many actions by San Francisco since 1913 have been in violation of the Raker Act, which explicitly stated that power and water from Hetch Hetchy could not be sold to private interests. Seventeen species of bats inhabit the Hetch Hetchy area, including the largest North American bat, the western mastiff. Those who presumed to speak for wealth, much of which flowed to San Francisco, believed they were transforming a pioneer land into a settled, civilized one. (Read SPURs analysis of this plan.) The water is transported from the reservoir by the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which is made up of 170 miles of gravity-driven pipelines, dams, and other reservoirs. Miners did not stay in the area for long, however, as richer deposits occurred further south along the Merced River and in the Big Oak Flat area. [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. It was the second tallest dam in the U.S. at the time. This trail is 13 miles round-trip with 3,700 feet elevation gain. . Other trails also continue to Lake Vernon. Hetch Hetchy Dome, at 6,197ft (1,889m), lies directly north of it. This is why environmental impact statements, which were not required prior to 1969, are so important today. There have been lawsuits over whether San Francisco violated the agreements of the Raker Act. The Poopenaut Trail begins at a signed trailhead four miles past the entrance station. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. ", "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. . It would be almost impossible to build a new dam there today. The Hetch Hetchy Valley is about 8 miles (13 km) from Yosemite Valley. [70] Hodel called for a study of the effect of tearing down the dam. Should natural resources be used to serve the greatest good for the greatest number? Muir concludes his treatise on Hetch Hetchy with the now familiar words, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! The Tuolumne River originates in the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows and is the major drainage system for the northern part of Yosemite. (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.) Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. Then, well need to weigh our options for other new large water supplies, all of which will have enormous environmental tradeoffs: think of building a desalination plant, fighting with Los Angeles over the Sacramento Delta, building a peripheral canal or siting new large dams in presently undammed Sierra mountains and foothills. This is because the Tuolumne catchment basin above Hetch Hetchy is almost three times as large as the catchment area of the Merced River above Yosemite, allowing a greater volume of ice to form. From this work, we have concluded that it is not wise to reduce water storage facilities considering the realities of a growing population and climate change. And, as you might imagine, it produces some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States. [47] On October 28, 1934 twenty years after the beginning of construction on the Hetch Hetchy project a crowd of 20,000 San Franciscans gathered to celebrate the arrival of the first Hetch Hetchy water in the city. Yes, the plan to drain Hetch Hetchy involves causing new ecological damage. Hetch Hetchy, located at 3,900 feet in Yosemite National Park, is one of the park's most popular hiking . Due to extreme winter weather, Yosemite National Park is closed with no estimated date of reopening. They would light upon a man's blue shirt and turn it brown, and were voracious as mosquitoes would be. 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. This is also a place imbued with history: San Franciscos congressional delegation won the right to build the dam in 1913, to secure a reliable source of water in the wake of the 1906 earthquake. First, they block rivers which prevents fish from migrating. Browers Hetch Hetchy: Undoing A Great American Mistake, makes a compelling case for restoring the valley to its previous glory. The valley floor consisted of roughly 1,200 acres (490ha) of meadows fringed by pine forest, through which meandered the Tuolumne River and numerous tributary streams. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the park's natural wonders. Utilizing its superior resources, the city produced a detailed report which made a compelling case that, far from damaging the beauty of Yosemite, the dam would actually enhance it. For example, plan to stop at the Lucky Buck Cafe on your way to or from a day of exploring Yosemite. Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. [48], The Early Intake (Lower Cherry) Powerhouse began commercial operation five years before the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed. Gray pine, incense-cedar, and California black oak grow in abundance. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. [63] The city justified this as a temporary measure, but no attempt to follow through with completing the municipal grid was ever made. A national debate ensued between the preservationist and conservationist factions of the young environmental movement. She says the water first leaves Hetch Hetchy through the O'Shaughnessy Dam. Healthy fish populations - by releasing sufficient instream flows for spawning and rearing downstream - sometimes to mitigate for the loss of spawning habitat caused by their construction, and In 1987, President Reagans Secretary of the Interior, Donald Hodel, proposed that Hetch Hetchy be restored. A Dam Removal in Progress. As a consequence, visitors came to experience it for themselves. [2] Activity 1: Analysis. In the future, we will certainly need diverse supplies to rely on in a prolonged drought, but we will also need Hetch Hetchy more than ever. These are called Bay Division Pipelines (BDPL) 1, 2, 3, and 4, with nominal pipeline diameters of 60, 66, 78, and 96 inches (1.5, 1.7, 2.0 and 2.4m, respectively). It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. To do so, it would either have to buy out the private monopoly at an exorbitant price or outmaneuver or outbid Spring Valley for a potential new reservoir., (Source: Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of Americas Public Lands, John Clayton). 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. Furthermore, they provided a place for the wild plants and creatures to live out their own lives, according to their purposes. San Francisco had its eyes on this water source early on and repeatedly tried to acquire water rights to the Tuolumne River. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. Dam Hetch Hetchy! [41], In 1906, after a major earthquake and subsequent fire that devastated San Francisco, the inadequacy of the city's water system was made tragically clear. If youre excited about a long hike or backpacking trip, you can continue to Laurel Lake for a 14.2-mile (22.9 km) out and back. But what about when the lake dries? It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. 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.. 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. Show More. As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.. Residents drink it in 26 cities and water districts from San. [37][38] However, ranchers who had previously owned land in the new park continued their use of Hetch Hetchy Valley a "sheep-grazing free-for-all [that] threatened to denude the High Sierra meadows"[37] before disputes over state and private properties in respect to national park boundaries were finally settled in the early 1900s. San Francisco could flood the valley and work began the following year. Muir and other defenders of Hetch Hetchy believe the fight revolved around two central issues. "[65] Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior in the late 1930s, said there was a violation of the Raker Act, but he and the city reached an agreement in 1945. In the northwest corner of Yosemite National Park you can find the Hetch Hetchy Valley. [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. Water could be diverted into the Kirkwood and Moccasin Powerhouses using lower-impact diversion dams, providing power generation on a seasonal basis, and the enlarged height at Don Pedro would also increase power generation there. Yet it also highlighted the division within the conservation movement over two fundamental principles: utilitarian conservation versus preservation. The O'Shaughnessy Dam and reservoir, and the series of aqueducts, tunnels, and tunnels as well as 8 other dams make up the entire Hetch Hetchy Project. In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. And today there is even an organization, Restore Hetch Hetchy, which is committed to doing just that. Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. Over the last 35 years, the idea has been studied by the Environmental Defense Fund, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, UC Davis, and several state agencies. John Muir knew that without public support, the Hetch Hetchy Valley would be lost. 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. 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. Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man. There are four fundamental ways in which dams damage rivers. Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. Ultimately, San Francisco sold hydropower from the dam to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which led to decades of legal wrangling and controversy over terms in the Raker Act. Since then, the "Hetch Hetchy System" has continued to grow, now including nine impoundments . It is part of our More than Just Parks Environmental Heroes series. [2] The dam contains 675,000cuyd (516,000m3) of concrete. Two additional reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy RegionLake Eleanor and Lake Lloyd (also Within 50 years, vegetative cover would be complete except for exposed rocky areas. [40] The city would repeatedly try to acquire water rights to Hetch Hetchy, including in 1901, 1903 and 1905, but was continually rebuffed because of conflicts with irrigation districts that had senior water rights on the Tuolumne River, and because of the valley's national park status. 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. But the ultra-liberal President Woodrow Wilson signed off in 1913 on the multi-decade construction of a series of dams within Yosemite National Park that flooded Hetch Hetchy Valley to create a massive reservoir, hydroelectric plants, and a 167-mile aqueduct for the sole benefit of the City of San Francisco. As a result, San Francisco secured a reliable and . But Sites would be what's called an off-channel reservoir, built away from the river. Right next to the Lucky Buck Cafe, youll find the Yosemite Westgate Lodge and Buck Meadows Lodge. The exploitation of Californias natural resources continued unabated in the years leading up to Hetch Hetchy. [15] When the glacier retreated for the final time, sediment-laden meltwater deposited thick layers of silt, forming the flat alluvial floodplain of the valley floor. The dam is a small portion of the overall Tuolumne River/San Francisco storage system that benefits the Bay Area. 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. [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. Buck Meadows is also a great place to spend the night. Progressive political leaders, of whom Mayor Phelan was one, believed it was time to take this power away from the private interests and turn it over to the people. Not far from there, youll find more budget-minded lodging at Buck Meadows Lodge. They acknowledge that a concerted effort would have to be made to control the introduction of wildlife and tourism back into the valley in order to prevent destabilization of the ecosystem,[68] and that it might be decades or even centuries before the valley could be returned to natural conditions. The privately owned Spring Valley Water Company had required its customers to pay exorbitant rates for years. 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. High temperatures prevail in summer months, but its a small price to pay for the reward of vast wilderness filled with stunning peaks, hidden canyons, and remote lakes. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13km). It's a big job to open the tunnel and close it again. While opponents of the dam were hard pressed for financial support, the city of San Franciscos campaign was well financed. [16], Compared with Yosemite Valley, the walls of Hetch Hetchy are smoother and rounder because it was glaciated to a greater extent. These clean and comfortable rooms also enjoy access to the pool, spa and other facilities at Yosemite Westgate Lodge. . As Muir famously protested: Dam Hetch Hetchy? As well dam for water tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.'. [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. There is a third concept, too, though it was little understood at the time. The O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923 and, after the . [26], In the early 1850s, a mountain man by the name of Nathan Screech[27] became the first non-Native American to enter the valley. [54][55], After passing through the powerhouses, Hetch Hetchy water flows into the 167mi (269km) Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley. In terms of quality, Hetch Hetchy water is so pristine that it is one of only a handful of water supplies in the country that doesn't need to be filtered, a process that is expensive and energy intensive. That reservoir is New Don Pedro, and it rests over existing pipelines to the Bay Area. The history of Californias growth is inextricably linked to the search for water. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. Hetch Hetchy is on the main stem of the Tuolumne River and is part of the Tuolumne watershed. The openings in the Taft administration led to the eventual success of the Raker Act. Some of these studies determined that the idea of draining the reservoir was technically feasible but incredibly costly. Bierstadt described the valley as "smaller than the more famous valley but it presents many of the same features in his scenery and is quite as beautiful. 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. The first people, outside of Native Americans, to see the Hetch Hetchy Valley were Joseph, Nate and William Screechin 1850. [42] This provoked a seven-year environmental struggle with the environmental group Sierra Club, led by John Muir. No spam. In the 19th century, the first white visitors to the valley did not realize that Hetch Hetchy's extensive meadows were the product of millennia of management by Native Americans; instead they believed "the valley was purely a product of ancient geological forces (or divine intervention) this was fundamental to its allure as a destination and subject. During the late 19th century, the valley was renowned for its natural beauty often compared to that of Yosemite Valley but also targeted for the development of water supply for irrigation and municipal interests. 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 ________. Photo: Chris Migeon. In spite of Muirs eloquent and heated objections, the Raker Act was signed into law in December of 1913. ", "Three Square Miles of Open Space: Is It Enough? . California O Shaughnessy Dam Analysis 1428 Words | 6 Pages. While youre at it, plan to add to the historic flavor of this route with a stop the Northern Mariposa County History Center. The new. 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. This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson appointed Lane his Secretary of the Interior. Located at 3,900 feet, Hetch Hetchy boasts one of the longest hiking seasons in the park and is an ideal place for thundering spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. The trail continues to climb for 1.8 miles (2.8 km) above the trail intersection, but you can turn around any time.