The main power facility in the system, the Moccasin Powerhouse, began commercial operation on August 14, 1925. But what about when the lake dries? Valley, reservoir, and aqueduct in California, USA, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMatthes1930 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFWohlforth2004 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFWhitney1874 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFGlennon2009 (, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hetch Hetchy, List of dams and reservoirs in California, List of the tallest dams in the United States, "Alternatives for Restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley Following Removal of the Dam and Reservoir", "Hetch Hetchy Reclaimed: Drain it, then what? Would that be an improvement? 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. 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 . . For functional purposes, Hetch Hetchy was a promising solution to San Francisco's serious water shortages. 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. He produced at least four oil paintings of the valley one of which is prominently displayed in Mount Holyoke Colleges art museum. The National Park Service conducted research to determine what would happen if the dam were removed, and people have repeatedly proposed costly studies to further understand the consequences of removing the dam. Dam the Hetch Hetchy! They would light upon a man's blue shirt and turn it brown, and were voracious as mosquitoes would be. 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. 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.. In the distance, long white plumes of water cascade hundreds of feet down from rocky heights. Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, youll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. The first people, outside of Native Americans, to see the Hetch Hetchy Valley were Joseph, Nate and William Screechin 1850. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. Specialty pricing may require . [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. They poured an estimated total of more than 398,000 cubic yards (304,000 cubic meters) of concrete to form the dam. The Hetch Hetchy Valley is a part of Yosemite National Park. Upcountry and the Bay Area. Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. [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. In the early 20th century, San Francisco flooded the Hetch Hetchy Valley, destroying "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." This is why the city can now ban new natural gas. And Hetch Hetchy's damming has inspired generations of conservationists to protect our natural heritage and to commit to safeguarding our protected areas. The terminus of the incomplete line was "conveniently located next to a PG&E substation", which connected to PG&E's private line which in turn bridged the gap to San Francisco. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. It is definitely worth to visit Hetch Hetchy area especially in 2021 when main Yosemite area requires booking permits in advance. Bierstadts paintings and Muirs writings began to publicize the beauty of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Indeed, Hetch Hetchy today[when?] 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. The Hetch Hetchy Dam in the Yosemite Valley, receives the bulk of it's water from the sierra snow pack miles above the reservoir. Building the Dam. [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. The waterfall on the Tuolumne is now submerged under Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Each switchback reveals scenic overlooks of the reservoir and Kolana Rock. On this point we hold that while we are willing to die for the lives or the health of the citizens of San Francisco, we are not willing to die for their pockets. 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. Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages And, as you might imagine, it produces some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States. The reservoir supplies water for the city of San Francisco, so there is no recreational boating or swimming allowed. San Francisco could flood the valley and work began the following year. Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. As well dam for . 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. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. [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. Pipelines 1 and 2 cross the San Francisco Bay to the south of the Dumbarton Bridge, while pipelines 3 and 4 run to the south of the bay. These benefits include: Reservoir-based recreation - swimming, fishing, camping etc. Gifford Pinchot wanted the U.S Forest Service to control the parks, but after his support to dam Hetchy Hetchy, Congress voted in 1916 to to establish the National Park Service whose sole purpose was "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the . An adjacent building contains another five suites with vaulted ceilings, forest views and soaking tubs. Native American cultures were prominent before the 1850s when the first settlers from the United States arrived in the Sierra Nevada. Once again, the political pendulum had swung. You may take easy hike to Wapama falls ( around 6 miles) or even more challenging hike to Rancheria falls ( around 14 miles). "[61][62], The battle over Hetch Hetchy Valley continues today[when?] "[32], In 1867, Charles F. Hoffman of the California Geological Survey conducted the first survey of the valley. It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. SPUR wholeheartedly agrees that planning for water quality and reliability is important. Download the official NPS app before your next visit. The bustling metropolis of Los Angeles could not have become the city it did without the water which flowed from the Owens Valley hundreds of miles away. 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). In 1987, President Reagans Secretary of the Interior, Donald Hodel, proposed that Hetch Hetchy be restored. 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 [9] Formerly, a "small but noisy"[10] waterfall and natural pool existed on the Tuolumne River marked the upper entrance to Hetch Hetchy Valley,[11] informally known as Tuolumne Fall (not to be confused with a similarly named waterfall several miles upriver near Tuolumne Meadows). [54][55], After passing through the powerhouses, Hetch Hetchy water flows into the 167mi (269km) Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley. 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 68mi (109km) Hetch Hetchy Railroad was constructed to link the Sierra Railway with Hetch Hetchy Valley, allowing for direct rail shipment of construction materials from San Francisco to the dam site. Indeed, the battle over Hetch Hetchy may have been a little-known contributor to the permanent alignment of American politics it was the tension between Ballinger and Pinchot that set in motion the events that lead to the split mentioned above. 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. 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. While opponents of the dam were hard pressed for financial support, the city of San Franciscos campaign was well financed. A) 5 billion B . 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. In the sum of American economic expansion the intrusion might have seemed a minor, obscure matter, but to [John] Muir immense issues were involved: why had the nation preserved that pure wildness in the first place? This 1910 view shows Kolana Rock and Tueeulala Falls in the background. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. Said San Francisco resident William Denman in 1918, "The first time I went into the Hetch Hetchy the mosquitoes were intolerable. This trail is 13 miles round-trip with 3,700 feet elevation gain. Congress has set aside the Yosemite Valley as a state park in 1864, established a national park around it in 1890, and then reclaimed the valley as part of the national park in 1903. This can be very disorienting to fish and disrupt their migrations as they depend on steady streams and flows to guide them. Also convince them it would be a good idea to raise the heights of their dams so we can enlarge these reservoirs with our extra water, flooding anew many miles of the Tuolumne River and acres of currently dry land. Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. OShaughnessy Dam and the waterworks that connect it to the Bay Area are a marvel of engineering. It marks the first catchment in a 160-mile long water system that brings high quality, superb-tasting water to 2.6 million residents of the Bay Area every day. The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. It's dumb, dumb, dumb. John Muir once described Hetch Hetchy Valley as, a grand landscape garden, one of Natures rarest and most precious mountain temples.. 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. Browers Hetch Hetchy: Undoing A Great American Mistake, makes a compelling case for restoring the valley to its previous glory. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. between those who wish to retain the dam and reservoir, and those who wish to drain the reservoir and return Hetch Hetchy Valley to its former state. The O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923 and, after the . 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 . Spring and early summer bring wildflowers including lupine, wallflower, monkey flower, and buttercup. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. Being one of the biggest hydroelectric facilities in the United States and a National Landmark, Hoover Dam generates power to serve more than 1.3 million people. [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. There is a third concept, too, though it was little understood at the time. Fortunately, that time has not yet come, so this November, vote no on the Water Sustainability and Environmental Restoration Planning Act of 2012. Lets keep Hetch Hetchy around for the forseeable future. Your email address will not be published. At the time, neither side understood the long-range consequences of human actions to manage the environment. California Rep. John E. Raker submitted a bill to Congress granting the city of San Francisco the right to dam the Hetchy Hetchy Valley as a reservoir and also provide the city the right of municipalized electricity as well. This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels. Gifford Pinchot: A 2021 Lesson From Americas First Forester, Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks, Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of Americas Public Lands, Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, Son of the Wilderness: The Life of John Muir, General Sherman Tree: Everything You Need to Know About The Largest Tree in the World, 11 BEST National Parks Near San Francisco to Visit (Expert Guide), 7 EPIC National Parks Near Santa Ana Youll Love (Photos + Guide). Should natural resources be used to serve the greatest good for the greatest number? If you delight in getting off the well-beaten path, or if you are looking for a peaceful natural retreat, its perfection. [8] Rancheria Falls is located farther southeast, on Rancheria Creek. [2] The dam contains 675,000cuyd (516,000m3) of concrete. The city must pay a lease of $30,000 per year for the use of Hetch Hetchy, which sits on federal land. a strong proponent of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley and Senator Feinstein is still[when?] The inadequacy of the citys existing water supply came into sharp focus. ", "San Francisco-Hetch Hetchy Valley Connection", "Hetch Hetchy controversy: Could Yosemite's 'second valley' be restored? 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.. It would be almost impossible to build a new dam there today. Exactly how San Francisco won the right to transform the bucolic valley into a They were both initially carved by rivers flowing down the Sierras relatively gentle western slope. You can expect one (short) email per month. Gray pine, incense-cedar, and California black oak grow in abundance. Hetch Hetchy, located at 3,900 feet in Yosemite National Park, is one of the park's most popular hiking . Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. Assign each group to analyze one or more . Could you imagine building a dam inside a national park today? The exploitation of Californias natural resources continued unabated in the years leading up to Hetch Hetchy. Appreciate what nature created and what the city built there long ago. And today there is even an organization, Restore Hetch Hetchy, which is committed to doing just that. But Hetch Hetchy, one of nature's perfect . RELATED: A Woman Started The Environmental Movement (Can It Continue?). The trail includes spectacular views of Tueeulala and Wapama Falls. [16], Compared with Yosemite Valley, the walls of Hetch Hetchy are smoother and rounder because it was glaciated to a greater extent. It forced elected representatives to consider what a national park designation truly meant and whether or not the land within these parks deserved protection. It has not been demonstrated that Hetch Hetchy is the only available source, but only that it might be the cheapest. Put another way, if Congress denied the city of San Francisco the Hetch Hetchy Valley, the California Progressive leaders suspected that it would only be a matter of time before the emerging Pacific Gas and Electric Company would grab the area. Albert Bierstadt was known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West. 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 doesnt need to be filtered, a process that is expensive and energy intensive. It is spectacular: a miles-long placid blue lake nested within towering granite cliffs, from which waterfalls cascade. Third, dams alter natural habitats and change the ways in which rivers function. He was a firm believer in utilitarian conservation. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir created by the dam has a capacity of 360,400acreft (0.4445km3), with a maximum area of 1,972 acres (798ha) and a maximum depth of 306 feet (93m). Fourth, dams alter water quality. Even a short stroll from the car gives a magnificent view of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir from the OShaughnessy Dam. Two additional reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy RegionLake Eleanor and Lake Lloyd (also The fundamental issue involved two concepts. First, the beauty of the valley which they felt should not be sacrificed to build a dam. Residents drink it in 26 cities and water districts from San. 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). The trail to Wapama Falls is one of the most popular trails in the Hetch Hetchy area for a good reason. Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley are so similar because they were created by the same sequences of geological activity. Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. To begin the trail, cross the dam and pass through the tunnel. View of the OShaughnessy Dam and the Hetchy Hetchy Road and parking. Hetch Hetchy ushered in a new era for the national parks. 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. Another popular trail crosses the OShaughnessy Dam and then takes a left turn to climb steeply out of the Hetch Hetchy valley. Not to be outdone by Los Angeles, San Francisco had a greater feat in mind: dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park and pipe the water into San Francisco. 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. In continuance, water has a personality and the presence of it can change moods and help people feel better. 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. Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river . Photo: Kim Lawson. We can't help it either. "[34], When Yosemite Valley became part of a state park in 1864, Hetch Hetchy received no such designation. 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. While youre at it, plan to add to the historic flavor of this route with a stop the Northern Mariposa County History Center. Second, the sanctity of the national parks which they believed should not be violated. Guests at these suites receive breakfast on their patios. John Muir knew that without public support, the Hetch Hetchy Valley would be lost. Rancheria Falls itself is a series of whitewater cascades that crashes through a narrow canyon on its way to the reservoir. 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? Impounded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water passes through hydroelectric powerhouses before it enters the San Joaquin Pipelines, the Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, and the Coast Range Tunnel on its journey to the Bay Area. Photo: Herbert W. Gleason courtesy of the Sierra Club. 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. 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. California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. We have historic photographs to remind us of what Hetch Hetchy Valley looked like before the dam was built. In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. . For thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from the United States in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native Americans who practiced subsistence hunting-gathering. 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. 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. To visit the waterfalls or Yosemites northern backcountry, you walk across OShaughnessy Dam. The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths. While John Muir led the fight against building the dam, the opposition was supported by Gifford Pinchot. The question Pinchot always asked was, What is the greatest good for the greatest number?, He was famously quoted as saying, Where conflicting interests must be reconciled, the question shall always be answered from the standpoint of the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run., RELATED: Gifford Pinchot: A 2021 Lesson From Americas First Forester, In his congressional testimony, Pinchot argued in favor of building the dam. Once the glaciers retreated, tributaries leading into the main river were left hanging hundreds or thousands of feet above the valley floor, creating the beautiful waterfalls we know today. [82] Dianne Feinstein opposed this allocation, saying, "I will do all I can to make sure it isn't included in the final bill. 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. [8], Meadow plants unavailable in the lowlands were particularly valuable resources to these tribes. . The second concept is preservation. Most people turn around here anyway. . [3] Kolana Rock, at 5,772ft (1,759m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. The privately owned Spring Valley Water Company had required its customers to pay exorbitant rates for years. 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. Pinchot was Americas Forester. He served as the first head of the United States Forest Service. ", "Three Square Miles of Open Space: Is It Enough? Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the valley the perfect location for a dam. It has two trailhead options. The Tuolumne River originates in the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows and is the major drainage system for the northern part of Yosemite. There is no Starbucks here no daily parade of tour buses and RVs. She says the water first leaves Hetch Hetchy through the O'Shaughnessy Dam. Monroe went on to lobby members of Congress as the battle moved to Washington D.C. She was a tireless advocate who believed that people needed to be educated in order to do what was best for everyone involved. [21] Periodic clearing of the valley provided ample space for the growth of the grasses and shrubs they relied on, as well as additional room for large game animals such as deer to browse. Photo: Theresa Ho, Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. 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. [4] A broad, low rocky outcrop situated between Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome divided the former meadow in two distinct sections.
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