Over the next decade, he produced fifteen large oils that transformed the valley into a dreamland unlike anything that ever met mortal eye.. For example, plan to stop at the Lucky Buck Cafe on your way to or from a day of exploring Yosemite. Stand on OShaughnessy Dam and feel the cool updraft. "[34], When Yosemite Valley became part of a state park in 1864, Hetch Hetchy received no such designation. Controversy continues to swirl around the Hetch Hetchy Dam even now. [75] The remaining deficit would likely have to be replaced by polluting fossil fuel generation. Some hydro-power dams withhold and then release water to generate power for peak demand periods, which is particularly disruptive to migrating fish. 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. The glacially-carved U-shaped valley floor maximizes the amount of water stored in the reservoir. The valley provided an escape from the summer heat of the lowlands. It's dumb, dumb, dumb. The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths. Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. Hetch Hetchy, located at 3,900 feet in Yosemite National Park, is one of the park's most popular hiking . Divide the class into four small groups. 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). 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. ", "Hetch Hetchy reclaimed: The dam downstream", "Alternatives for restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley following removal of the dam and reservoir page 15", "Chapter 9: Impact of restoration on hydropower production and revenues", "Putting Bay Area's Water Sources to a Vote", "Hodel Would Tear Down Dam in Hetch Hetchy", "On Hetch Hetchy, John Muir was wrong: California's revered naturalist wrote a poetic diatribe against the drowning of the great valley. The first is utilitarian conservation. 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). 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. Hetch Hetchy, for the time being, was safe, and it would not be inundated during Roosevelts watch.. [17] The valley's abundant plants provided nourishment for mule deer, black bears and bighorn sheep. 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. This is why environmental impact statements, which were not required prior to 1969, are so important today. [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. There are thousands of dams in the United States. But tearing OShaughnessy Dam down now in order to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley would be a disaster. remains the least visited area of the 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. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. 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. 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 fact, this is so obviously a good idea that the SFPUC and other end users of Hetch Hetchy water have been doing it for years. [50] The project is operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Yet it also highlighted the division within the conservation movement over two fundamental principles: utilitarian conservation versus preservation. 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. 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. At full capacity, the reservoir stretches eight miles (13 km) upstream of the OShaughnessy Dam. 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. After 2.5 miles (4.0 km), youll reach the Wapama Falls Bridge with an up-close view of the lowest section of Wapama Falls. The waterfall on the Tuolumne is now submerged under Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. 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 Its a a wonderful place to see spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13 km). 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 Hetch Hetchy Valley underwent a monumental transformation when the City Of San Francisco received the approval of Congress in 1913 to build a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, thus storing the water of the Tuolumne River and flooding the valley to a height of over 350 feet. Fourth, dams alter water quality. [54][55], After passing through the powerhouses, Hetch Hetchy water flows into the 167mi (269km) Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley. Animals were principally driven along Joseph Screech's trail from Big Oak Flat to Hetch Hetchy. Buck Meadows is also a great place to spend the night. We're not going to remove this dam, and the funding is unnecessary. Through the manipulation of water, the company also had the power to determine which real estate became valuable and which languished. [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. 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. [56] All four pipelines cross the Hayward fault. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. 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. Monroe was a Chicago poet who joined Muir and others on their 1908 and 1909 outings to the valley. This option favors building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide hundreds of thou- sands of San Francisco residents with water and electricitybasic necessities for health and well-being, as well as urban development and economic growth. As John Clayton writes, At the height of Progressivism, Phelan and other good-government types believed that the city should administer its own utilities. [31], During this time, the upper Tuolumne River, including Hetch Hetchy Valley, was visited by prospectors attracted by the California Gold Rush. 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). The . RELATED: Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks. And today there is even an organization, Restore Hetch Hetchy, which is committed to doing just that. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. 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. 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. Residents drink it in 26 cities and water districts from San. Standing upon it will give you the chance to appreciate the sublimity of both nature and human achievement. Rounding the corner and catching the first glimpses of Hetch Hetchy Valley reveals the play of light on water. All offers, including but not limited to, bonus amenities, upgrades, prices, and group benefits are based on select dates, resorts, room categories, and/or fare codes. 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). 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. Muir and other defenders of Hetch Hetchy believe the fight revolved around two central issues. Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. [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). Park entry (as needed). 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. For thousands of years, Native Americans subjected the valley to controlled bushfires, which prevented forest from taking over the valley meadows. 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. 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. Mirror Lakes famous spring-time reflections capture the eye and mind. They also remove water needed for healthy in-stream ecosystems. Including additions made between 1934 and 1938, the dam currently stands 430 feet (131 m) above the bedrock below. The larger issues at stake would frame environmental debates for years to come. The spacious rooms include access to a heated swimming pool, spa, playground, and laundry facilities. [54] An additional hydroelectric system comprising Cherry Lake, Lake Eleanor and the Holm Powerhouse is also part of the Hetch Hetchy Project, adding another 169 megawatts of generating capacity. Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Expect delicious meals and hearty portions to fuel your adventure or beat that post-hiking hunger. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned another study that found enormous recreational value from removing the dam. [4] A broad, low rocky outcrop situated between Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome divided the former meadow in two distinct sections. The network goes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, across the Central Valley and out to the coast, and serves 2.5 million Californians in 30 cities across four counties. Today the 117-billion-gallon reservoir supplies drinking water to about 2.5 million San Francisco Bay Area residents and hydro-electric power generated by two plants downstream. 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. The gently rolling terrain has excellent views of the water and eye-catching Kolana Rock, which towers roughly 2,000 feet above. Hetch Hetchy is dammed by the 430-foot-tall OShaughnessy Dam and has a storage capacity of 360,360 acre-feet. 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. 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. It spans 900 feet (270 m) with a 17-foot (5.2 m) wide trail across the top that hikers use to cross to the opposite side. When changes are made there are unintended consequences. To visit the waterfalls or Yosemites northern backcountry, you walk across OShaughnessy Dam. Secretary of the Interior, Ethan Allen Hitchcock, refused to give San Francisco a permit to build the dam. 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. 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. On a national stage, Hetch Hetchy became caught in the cross fire between the interests of private utilities ownership and those of municipal ownership. 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. [40] By the 1880s, San Francisco was looking to Hetch Hetchy water as a fix for its outdated and unreliable water system. A Dam Removal in Progress. [64] Peter Byrne of SF Weekly has stated that "the plain language of the Raker Act itself and experts who are familiar with the act (and have no stake in city politics) all agree: The city of San Francisco is not in violation of the Raker Act. history. Photo: Herbert W. Gleason courtesy of the Sierra Club. Native American cultures were prominent before the 1850s when the first settlers from the United States arrived in the Sierra Nevada. San Francisco was able to accomplish this in 1925 by claiming it had run out of funds to extend the Hetch Hetchy transmission line all the way to the city. Said San Francisco resident William Denman in 1918, "The first time I went into the Hetch Hetchy the mosquitoes were intolerable. "[32], In 1867, Charles F. Hoffman of the California Geological Survey conducted the first survey of the valley. 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. [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 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. For your last day, enjoy a short hike on the shores of the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. 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. [3] Kolana Rock, at 5,772ft (1,759m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. The Hetch Hetchy Valley is about 8 miles (13 km) from Yosemite Valley. This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. 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. Activity 1: Analysis. "[19], People have lived in Hetch Hetchy Valley for over 6,000 years. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within the Yosemite National Park, supplies 85% of the water needs of San Francisco and surrounding counties. No BS! . [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. 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 1910 view shows Kolana Rock and Tueeulala Falls in the background.
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