Had it been, the Sierra Clubs members would have presented a united front in opposition to its development. 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. The city must pay a lease of $30,000 per year for the use of Hetch Hetchy, which sits on federal land. "[85] However, she does support breaching the dam once it has reached the end of its lifespan, and not replacing it. 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. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. Mirror Lakes famous spring-time reflections capture the eye and mind. First, the beauty of the valley which they felt should not be sacrificed to build a dam. 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. 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. 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). Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, encompassing 2,000 acres of federal park land, has clearly been maintained for the benefit of San Francisco with minimal consideration of the wider public whose tax dollarsand, in the case of visitors, entrance feessupport the national park. It involved the unintended consequences of efforts to shape the environment to meet human needs. Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. 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. Many examples of red-barked manzanita can be seen along the Hetch Hetchy Road. And today there is even an organization, Restore Hetch Hetchy, which is committed to doing just that. The water winds between granite features like Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome. Hoover Dam. On December 19, 1913, Congress passed and President Wilson signed the Raker Act which permitted the building of the OShaughnessy Dam and the flooding of the Hetch Hethcy Valley in Yosemite National Park. 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. 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. In some cases, however, including the Klamath and Hetch Hetchy, the benefits of restoration clearly outweigh the benefits provided by the dams. [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. 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. Photo: Chris Migeon It has not been demonstrated that Hetch Hetchy is the only available source, but only that it might be the cheapest. [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. Located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, the dam captures water from the . Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. More Than Just Parks | National Parks Guides. This strenuous 2.5-mile, round-trip hike to the Tuolumne River has 1,229 feet of elevation gain. Upcountry and the Bay Area. The reservoir is fed by the Tuolumne River. Yosemite Westgate Lodge offers newly-remodeled and well-appointed modern accommodation. 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. The dam is a small portion of the overall Tuolumne River/San Francisco storage system that benefits the Bay Area. Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, youll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. The Dam flooded about nine miles of the river, including the Hetch Hetchy valley. Photo: Chris Migeon. 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. Such new supplies are not guaranteed to have the low greenhouse gas emissions profile that Hetch Hetchy water and power do and they could worsen climate change while increasing our vulnerability to it. "[22], The valley's name may be derived from a Miwok word earlier anglicized as hatchhatchie, which means "edible grasses"[8][23] or "magpie". For your last day, enjoy a short hike on the shores of the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Those who did visit it were enchanted by its scenery, but encountered difficulties with the primitive conditions and, in summertime, swarms of mosquitoes. Public disapproval nationwide with the Raker Act helped to bring about the creation of the National Park Service. As the battle lines were drawn, the different methods employed by each side in presenting their case spoke to some of their basic assumptions about the nature of the issue. 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. Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. 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. 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. In the northwest corner of Yosemite National Park you can find the Hetch Hetchy Valley. These clean and comfortable rooms also enjoy access to the pool, spa and other facilities at Yosemite Westgate Lodge. [24] It is likely that the edible grass was blue dicks. Finally, in 1988, a third generator was added to the Kirkwood Powerhouse. In 1987, President Reagans Secretary of the Interior, Donald Hodel, proposed that Hetch Hetchy be restored. Through the manipulation of water, the company also had the power to determine which real estate became valuable and which languished. [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. San Francisco applied to the United States Department of the Interior to gain water rights to Hetch Hetchy, and in 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior, James R. Garfield, granted San Francisco the rights to development of the Tuolumne River. [45], The controversy over Hetch Hetchy was in the context of other political scandals and controversies, especially prevalent in the Taft administration. For instance, the WET company helps people see the beauty of water through magnificent water fountains. It carried workers and materials for the dam, as well as tourists, postage and other amenities. RELATED: A Woman Started The Environmental Movement (Can It Continue?). You can expect one (short) email per month. [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. [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. 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. 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 . The first people, outside of Native Americans, to see the Hetch Hetchy Valley were Joseph, Nate and William Screechin 1850. [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. [2] Get SPUR news and events delivered straight to your email inbox. Visitors might still need chains to get down Evergreen Road this time of year, but a trip to Hetch Hetchy reveals an example of the potent storms, and a reservoir of controversy for 100 years. 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. The deciding factor was whether or not the land in question had access to water. Would there be any room in an acquisitive society for wildness, or for non material spiritual values?. OShaughnessy Dam and the waterworks that connect it to the Bay Area are a marvel of engineering. Photo: Kim Lawson. As well dam for water tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.'. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within the Yosemite National Park, supplies 85% of the water needs of San Francisco and surrounding counties. [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. He was opposed by then Mayor Diane Feinstein who argued that the dam was San Franciscans birthright. 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. 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. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. Wapama Fall is reached via a five-mile, round-trip hike that follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. In the distance, long white plumes of water cascade hundreds of feet down from rocky heights. The other route begins at the entrance station and is 16 miles round-trip with 3,300 feet of elevation gain. Some of these studies determined that the idea of draining the reservoir was technically feasible but incredibly costly. Garfield was responding to critics who believed that the federal governments primary responsibility was to use the nations public resources for development in the service for the greatest number of people. [4] A broad, low rocky outcrop situated between Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome divided the former meadow in two distinct sections. 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. [16], Compared with Yosemite Valley, the walls of Hetch Hetchy are smoother and rounder because it was glaciated to a greater extent. Albright, along with Stephen Mather, became instrumental players in the creation of a national park system three years after Congress decided the issue of Hetch Hetchy. [72] The water storage provided at Hetch Hetchy could be transferred into Lake Don Pedro lower on the Tuolumne River by raising the New Don Pedro Dam 30ft (9.1m). Swimming and boating are prohibited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in order to maintain a clean source of drinking water. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. Then, in 1906, a devastating earthquake caused a series of fires in San Francisco that destroyed 25,000 buildings across 490 city blocks. . For John Muir, it was about preserving a natural wonder which could be enjoyed by generations to come. 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. [39], Interest in using the valley as a water source or reservoir dates back as far as the 1850s, when the Tuolumne Valley Water Company proposed developing water storage there for irrigation. 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. 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 in the Hetch Hetchy valley of Yosemite National Park, first proposed in 1908, was intended to create a reservoir that would provide water and electricity for the burgeoning city of San Francisco. [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). Camping included, if needed; limited sites are shared among all the . In contrast to the utilitarian view, the preservationist approach denied the assumption that the natural world existed solely to serve mans purposes. The National Park Service concluded that two years after draining the valley, grasses would cover most of its floor and within 10 years, clumps of cone-bearing trees and some oaks would take root. Apply Today! Park entry (as needed). 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. 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. [17] The valley's abundant plants provided nourishment for mule deer, black bears and bighorn sheep. There are four fundamental ways in which dams damage rivers. 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. A) 5 billion B . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. The Hetch Hetchy Dam in the Yosemite Valley, receives the bulk of it's water from the sierra snow pack miles above the reservoir. By Posted student houses falmouth 2021 In jw marriott panama concierge lounge Hetch Hetchy, unlike other water storage facilities in California, is relatively buffered from near-term climate change because of its high elevation. As we learned from Rachel Carsons Silent Spring, humankind can damage the environment while attempting to control it. Should natural resources be used to serve the greatest good for the greatest number? Seventeen species of bats inhabit the Hetch Hetchy area, including the largest North American bat, the western mastiff. A recent report evaluates the economic benefits of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. 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. The most prominent preservationist spokesman was John Muir.. 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. [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). Monroe was a Chicago poet who joined Muir and others on their 1908 and 1909 outings to the valley. In the autumn of 1871, John Muir visited Hetch Hetchy for the first time. Buck Meadows is also a great place to spend the night. John Muir knew that without public support, the Hetch Hetchy Valley would be lost. Once again, the political pendulum would swing. Dam Hetch Hetchy! It has two trailhead options. 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. Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. 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. Guests at these suites receive breakfast on their patios. It was the second tallest dam in the U.S. at the time. That's about twice the amount of power lost when Hetch Hetchy will be restored. Franklin Lane served as the attorney for the city of San Francisco in 1903. In an effort to build this support, he published his bookThe Yosemitein 1912. 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. For example, plan to stop at the Lucky Buck Cafe on your way to or from a day of exploring Yosemite. [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. [20] They hunted, and gathered seeds and edible plants to furnish themselves winter food, trade items, and materials for art and ceremonial objects. Divide the class into four small groups. (Source: American Rivers, How Dams Damage Rivers). Hetch Hetchy Valley is a treasure worth visiting. This time it was in favor those who wanted to preserve the valley for generations yet to come. Hetch Hetchy is on the main stem of the Tuolumne River and is part of the Tuolumne watershed. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. An advantage which Phelan, Pinchot and other supporters of the dam project enjoyed was a divided opposition. These benefits include: Reservoir-based recreation - swimming, fishing, camping etc. [73] Furthermore, the removal of O'Shaughnessy Dam would not require costly sediment control measures, as would be typical on most dam removal projects, because of the high quality of the Tuolumne River water in the first 90 years since its construction, only around 2in (5.1cm) of sediment had been deposited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, much less than most other dams. In the Bay Area, Hetch Hetchy water is stored in local facilities including Calaveras Reservoir, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and San Antonio Reservoir. Two additional reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy RegionLake Eleanor and Lake Lloyd (also Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. 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. [18], Due to its abundant wetlands and stream pools, Hetch Hetchy was notorious among early travelers for becoming infested with mosquitoes in the summertime. 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. It pitted a powerful city against a dedicated group of conservationists. 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. 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. 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. California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. [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 openings in the Taft administration led to the eventual success of the Raker Act. As a 13.4-mile (21.4 km) round-trip hike, Rancheria Falls gets fewer day-hikers than Wapama Falls but is a popular backpacking stop. DWRs meta-study found a range of costs from $3 billion to $10 billion for restoration and replacement of water and power sources. 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. His path roughly follows the John Muir Highway State Highway 132 that runs from Highway 49 in Coulterville up through Greeley Hill before connecting back into Highway 120 before Buck Meadows and the turn-off to Hetch Hetchy. [46], Work on the Hetch Hetchy Project began in 1914. Indeed, Hetch Hetchy today[when?] So the idea of planning for new water supplies need not be on the ballot. remains the least visited area of the park. Surrounding the water are a few waterfalls, the most prominent being Tueeulala and Wapama Falls, and countless rock features. It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. Teams completed the OShaughnessy Dam in 1923 and the reservoir filled for the first time in May of that year. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite.