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. [63] The city justified this as a temporary measure, but no attempt to follow through with completing the municipal grid was ever made. 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. Why We Need Hetch Hetchy More Than Ever | SPUR Another Iconic Valley In Yosemite? Report Estimates Tourism Benefits Of Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Water Wars - Yosemite National Park Trips "[83], Opponents of dam removal have pointed out that the flooding of the Hetch Hetchy Valley has also deterred the crowds that overrun other areas of Yosemite National Park. This reservoir on the Sacramento River has been planned for decades And, as you might imagine, it produces some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States. The Tuolumne River originates in the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows and is the major drainage system for the northern part of Yosemite. It is part of our More than Just Parks Environmental Heroes series. 406 California Historical Landmark)", "John Muir's Yosemite: The father of the conservation movement found his calling on a visit to the California wilderness", "Timeline of the Ongoing Battle Over Hetch Hetchy", "The Hetch Hetchy Letters: If a Group of Intellectuals Argues in a Forest, and then that Forest is Submerged Under Water, Does Their Argument Matter? In the autumn of 1871, John Muir visited Hetch Hetchy for the first time. He wrote, I have always called it the Tuolumne Yosemite, for it is a wonderfully exact counterpart of the great Yosemite, not only in its crystal river and sublime rocks and waterfalls, but in the gardens, groves, and meadows of its flowery park-like floor. 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. 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. So the idea of planning for new water supplies need not be on the ballot. [17] The valley's abundant plants provided nourishment for mule deer, black bears and bighorn sheep. The openings in the Taft administration led to the eventual success of the Raker Act. The Dam flooded about nine miles of the river, including the Hetch Hetchy valley. The Hetch Hetchy Dam in the Yosemite Valley, receives the bulk of it's water from the sierra snow pack miles above the reservoir. If you delight in getting off the well-beaten path, or if you are looking for a peaceful natural retreat, its perfection. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. Now San Francisco wanted to dam one of the two principal watersheds in the park, the Hetch Hetchy valley through which ran the Tuolumne River, to create a reservoir for its water supply. But during peak spring flow, the thundering waterfall can wash over the bridge making it dangerous to cross. . The first Moccasin Powerhouse in Moccasin, California began commercial operation in 1925 followed by the Holm Powerhouse in 1960 (the same month the Early Intake Powerhouse was taken out of service). [8], Meadow plants unavailable in the lowlands were particularly valuable resources to these tribes. Smith Peak (7,751 feet) is the highest point in the area and offers outstanding views. [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. Seventeen species of bats inhabit the Hetch Hetchy area, including the largest North American bat, the western mastiff. [40] By the 1880s, San Francisco was looking to Hetch Hetchy water as a fix for its outdated and unreliable water system. Winter storms fill Hetch Hetchy, renew debate about reservoir's future . Before they could break ground at the OShaughnessy Dam, more infrastructure was required. Everyone who drinks water or takes a shower in San Francisco should go. 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. Due to extreme winter weather, Yosemite National Park is closed with no estimated date of reopening. The Blackberry Inn Bed and Breakfast is just one of many welcoming businesses located on the way to Hetch Hetchy. 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 water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is used to supply system customers as well as to generate hydroelectric power; the reservoir is also operated to provide instream flows to benefit fisheries and other wildlife. 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. Hiking in Yosemite National Park | AAA Ohio An adjacent building contains another five suites with vaulted ceilings, forest views and soaking tubs. (Source: American Rivers, How Dams Damage Rivers). Hetch Hetchy, a glacially carved valley situated in the northern end of the park, was flooded and dammed in the early 1900s in order to serve as the primary drinking water source for parts of San Francisco and the Bay Area. In its natural state, the valley floor was marshy and often flooded in the spring when snow melt in the high Sierra cascaded down the Tuolumne River and backed up behind the narrow gorge which is now spanned by O'Shaughnessy Dam. 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. It was the second tallest dam in the U.S. at the time. HETCH HETCHY: The Epic Enviro Battle That Changed America Call 209-372-0200 for the latest road and weather conditions, Hetch Hetchy Road Daily Hours: 8 am to 5 pm. In the northwest corner of Yosemite National Park you can find the Hetch Hetchy Valley. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. The other route begins at the entrance station and is 16 miles round-trip with 3,300 feet of elevation gain. And today there is even an organization, Restore Hetch Hetchy, which is committed to doing just that. Hetch Hetchy doesn't require permit, you need just regular National park pass. [50] The project is operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The Hetch Hetchy Valley: A Reservoir In The Sierra Nevada Mountains Of [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). 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. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. [54][55], After passing through the powerhouses, Hetch Hetchy water flows into the 167mi (269km) Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley. 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). Annie Li, a senior engineer at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, points to the yellow and brown squiggly lines on the map, revealing our water's path from Hetch Hetchy to the Bay Area. 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. Required fields are marked *. 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. Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Lawsuit to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir goes back to court 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 falls roar in spring and early summer. The view in Hetch Hetchy Valley As you know by now, the hike is 90% along the reservoir so you always get to see the most beautiful blue water in all of California. Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. It's dumb, dumb, dumb. As well dam for water tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.'. 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. Giving a Dam: Congress Debates Hetch Hetchy - George Mason University No BS! 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 . Hidden in Yosemite National Parks peaceful northwest corner, Hetch Hetchy Valley is a treasure worth visiting in all seasons. Gray pine, incense-cedar, and California black oak grow in abundance. We have historic photographs to remind us of what Hetch Hetchy Valley looked like before the dam was built. John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, condemned plans to build the dam, saying, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! Photo: Kim Lawson. [74] A 2019 study commissioned by Restore Hetch Hetchy argued that draining the reservoir and equipping the valley with a tourism infrastructure comparable to that of Yosemite Valley (which receives around 100 times as many visitors annually as Hetch Hetchy's 44,000) could result in a "recreational value" of up to $178 million per year, or possibly an overall economic value of up to $100 billion. [5] Local legend attributes the modern name Hetch Hetchy to Screech's initial arrival in the valley, during which he observed the Native Americans "cooking a variety of grass covered with edible seeds", which they called "hatch hatchy" or "hatchhatchie". The main problem with the measure is that in spite of appearing to be about studying best options or planning for future water supplies, it has pre-determined the solution: draining Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. But how did the dam get to be here? Hodel Would Tear Down Dam in Hetch Hetchy - Los Angeles Times Expect delicious meals and hearty portions to fuel your adventure or beat that post-hiking hunger. Hetch Valley Measure Pits Bay Area Against Environmentalists - The New Earn $27.3125 per hour. Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam began in 1919 and was finished in 1923, with the reservoir first filling in May of that year. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. 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. Water System | SFPUC benefits of hetch hetchy dam - Lindon CPA's If youre up for a driving adventure, try taking a little extra time to retrace parts of the route John Muir described in his book, My First Summer in the Sierra. Today, descendants of these people still use milkweed, deergrass, bracken fern, willow, and other plants for a variety of uses including baskets, medicines, and string. RELATED: Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks. This strenuous 2.5-mile, round-trip hike to the Tuolumne River has 1,229 feet of elevation gain. Park entry (as needed). 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. [42] This provoked a seven-year environmental struggle with the environmental group Sierra Club, led by John Muir. 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. Eighty-five percent of the water comes from Sierra Nevada snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir situated on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. can you smoke on royal caribbean cruise ships benefits of hetch hetchy dam. Then, in 1906, a devastating earthquake caused a series of fires in San Francisco that destroyed 25,000 buildings across 490 city blocks. Due to large cataracts on the Tuolumne River upstream, Hetch Hetchy Valley may have been in the uppermost range for native rainbow trout in the river. the Hetch Hetchy Dam (1910-13) Abstract The damming of Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite National Park is a watershed event in environmental history, a presumed travesty that brought anguish to John Muir and his many sup porters throughout the United States. Even a short stroll from the car gives a magnificent view of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir from the OShaughnessy Dam. There are many places to stop and enjoy views of the rushing water before turning around to return to your car. Should nature be left alone so that flora and fauna flourish while people enjoy its primal wonders? Argument Against The Hetchy Dam - 587 Words - Internet Public Library Related. The Hetch Hetchy Road drops into the valley at the dam, but all points east of there are roadless, and accessible only to hikers and equestrians. Before damming, the high granite formations produced a valley with an average depth of 1,800ft (550m) and a maximum depth of over 3,000ft (910m); the length of the valley was 3mi (4.8km) with a width ranging from .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}18 to 12 mile (660 to 2,640ft; 200 to 800m). 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. 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. They also remove water needed for healthy in-stream ecosystems. The Hetch Hetchy dam is upstream on the Tuolumne River from a reservoir nearly six times as large. SF's Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full. Is that a good thing? The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. For all the similarities between Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley, there is one enormous difference the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. [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. The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. "[19], People have lived in Hetch Hetchy Valley for over 6,000 years. At SPUR, we have done a lot of work on climate change adaptation. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. [49], The narrow defile at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley where San Francisco planned to dam the Tuolumne River, seen in 1914 before construction began, The same area seen today, with O'Shaughnessy Dam and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Hetch Hetchy Valley serves as the primary water source for the City and County of San Francisco and several surrounding municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. 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. Included with your registration: Two-day guided experience in Yosemite; one day at Hetch Hetchy and one day in Ackerson Meadow (Saturday, May 11, at 8 am, through Sunday, May 12, until about 3 pm). [70] Hodel called for a study of the effect of tearing down the dam. Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river . Environment Quiz 1 Chapters 1-3 Flashcards | Quizlet Forests might provide for the material well-being of human beings, but they did not exist for this reason alone. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. 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 . The second concept is preservation. 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. Including additions made between 1934 and 1938, the dam currently stands 430 feet (131 m) above the bedrock below. 2 Existing Regional Water System - San Francisco The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths. I will agree to take down Hetch Hetchy, when we first replace it with a bigger new reservoir such as a bigger taller Yosemite Valley dam at El Capitan. Within the ranks of the Sierra Club, there was a split between those San Francisco members who favored the dams municipal use versus those who believed this pristine area should not be tampered with under any circumstances. But tearing OShaughnessy Dam down now in order to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley would be a disaster. The deciding factor was whether or not the land in question had access to water. [75] The remaining deficit would likely have to be replaced by polluting fossil fuel generation. Only a tiny proportion of Yosemites visitors explore this out-of-the-way corner of the national park. The construction of the Hetch Hetchy Railroad took place from 1915 to 1918. John Muir once described Hetch Hetchy Valley as, a grand landscape garden, one of Natures rarest and most precious mountain temples.. [61] In 2018, the Department of the Interior of the Trump administration began to consider a proposal to allow limited boating on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for the first time, supported by the advocacy group Restore Hetch Hetchy which argued that "San Francisco received [Hetch Hetchy's] benefits long ago, but the American people have not. Browers Hetch Hetchy: Undoing A Great American Mistake, makes a compelling case for restoring the valley to its previous glory. [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. Pinchot was Americas Forester. He served as the first head of the United States Forest Service. 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. 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. Other trails also continue to Lake Vernon. . [67], Preservation groups including the Sierra Club and Restore Hetch Hetchy state that draining Hetch Hetchy would open the valley back up to recreation, a right that should be provided to the American people because the reservoir is within the legal boundaries of a national park. There are four fundamental ways in which dams damage rivers. Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the valley the perfect location for a dam. Yet environmentalists have dreamed of restoring the dramatic valley along the Tuolumne River, which was filled in by the lake when the dam was built in 1938 under the New Deal. Hetch Hetchy is dammed by the 430-foot-tall OShaughnessy Dam and has a storage capacity of 360,360 acre-feet. Stand on OShaughnessy Dam and feel the cool updraft. Through the manipulation of water, the company also had the power to determine which real estate became valuable and which languished. Native American cultures were prominent before the 1850s when the first settlers from the United States arrived in the Sierra Nevada. As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.. 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. Hetch Hetchy: Pros and Cons of Restoration - Yosemite Tales They poured an estimated total of more than 398,000 cubic yards (304,000 cubic meters) of concrete to form the dam. Those who did visit it were enchanted by its scenery, but encountered difficulties with the primitive conditions and, in summertime, swarms of mosquitoes.
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