Your email address will not be published. As John Clayton writes, At the height of Progressivism, Phelan and other good-government types believed that the city should administer its own utilities. Subsequent proposals for development in our national parks have been defeated by citizen activists inspired by calls to remember Hetch Hetchy. Activity 1: Analysis. RELATED: Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks. 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. "[65] Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior in the late 1930s, said there was a violation of the Raker Act, but he and the city reached an agreement in 1945. can you smoke on royal caribbean cruise ships benefits of hetch hetchy dam. ", "Fall in the Main Tuolumne River at the Head of Hetch Hetchy Valley", "Fly Fishing Poopenaut Valley Tuolumne River", "Screech Brothers Find Hetch Hetchy Valley", "Big Oak Flat (No. The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, youll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. [16], Compared with Yosemite Valley, the walls of Hetch Hetchy are smoother and rounder because it was glaciated to a greater extent. Download the official NPS app before your next visit. 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. while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music. Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley are so similar because they were created by the same sequences of geological activity. Pinchot was recognized as a leader of the conservation movement. The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths. The Tuolumne River originates in the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows and is the major drainage system for the northern part of Yosemite. 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). remains the least visited area of the park. View of the OShaughnessy Dam and the Hetchy Hetchy Road and parking. [45], The controversy over Hetch Hetchy was in the context of other political scandals and controversies, especially prevalent in the Taft administration. Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river . Hetch Hetchy, located at 3,900 feet in Yosemite National Park, is one of the park's most popular hiking . Photo: Kim Lawson. Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". The controversy over damming Hetch Hetchy became mired in the political issues of the day. While opponents of the dam were hard pressed for financial support, the city of San Franciscos campaign was well financed. The battle for Hetch Hetchy was perhaps the first effort at what is now known as "grassroots lobbying," getting individual citizens to contact elected officials in support . And it is the largest single source of water supply for the Bay Area. We would be trading flooded acres in one place for flooded acres in another. In the 21st century, Ken Brower, son of the renown environmentalist David Brower, wrote a fascinating account of the failed campaign to save Hetch Hetchy and the modern effort to Reverse an American Mistake, complete with speculation about how the rebirth of a wild valley might evolve. 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. [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. 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. There is no Starbucks here no daily parade of tour buses and RVs. There have been lawsuits over whether San Francisco violated the agreements of the Raker Act. 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. 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. Rounding the corner and catching the first glimpses of Hetch Hetchy Valley reveals the play of light on water. The second concept is preservation. 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? Not only does it supply 85 percent of the water for 2.6 million people in San Francisco, controlled releases via the O'Shaughnessy Dam are helping preserve downstream specieseven in dry years. Fourth, dams alter water quality. [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. Ultimately, San Francisco sold hydropower from the dam to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which led to decades of legal wrangling and controversy over terms in the Raker Act. O'Shaughnessy Dam is a 430-foot (131 m) high concrete arch-gravity dam in Tuolumne County, California, United States.It impounds the Tuolumne River, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, about 160 miles (260 km) east of San Francisco. Most people called it Hetch Hetchy, a mispronunciation of a Central Mohawk word for a plant that indigenous people were harvesting there when the first white man came along.. Photo: Kim Lawson. [2] The dam contains 675,000cuyd (516,000m3) of concrete. Garfield had granted San Franciscos request, but Ballinger ordered the city to show cause as to why Hetch Hetchy should not be deleted from their grant. [31], During this time, the upper Tuolumne River, including Hetch Hetchy Valley, was visited by prospectors attracted by the California Gold Rush. Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. Although Hetch Hetchy is included within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, the entrance is separate from the rest of the park. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir also serves to provide energy in the form of hydroelectricity, with a capacity of over 200 megawatts a year. Mirror Lakes famous spring-time reflections capture the eye and mind. Residents drink it in 26 cities and water districts from San. 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. 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, confronted with rising public opposition, refused to act on the measure. Before they could break ground at the OShaughnessy Dam, more infrastructure was required. Hetch Hetchy ushered in a new era for the national parks. [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. Richard Ballinger was appointed his Interior Secretary. On returning home, he asked an Indian chief the name of the valley. Richard Ballinger was a conservative who was one of the main characters who was responsible for the progressive-conservative split in the GOP in 1912 (leading to the creation of the Bull Moose party), which is the factor that determined the GOP would be on the right side of the political spectrum (and therefore ensuring the Democrats would be on the left side of the spectrum). 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. They suggest that draining the reservoir and turning Hetch Hetchy Valley into a tourist center similar to Yosemite Valley could be worth up to $178 million per year. Standing upon it will give you the chance to appreciate the sublimity of both nature and human achievement. [69], In 1987, the idea of razing the O'Shaughnessy Dam gained an adherent in Don Hodel, Secretary of the Department of the Interior under President Ronald Reagan. Photo: Chris Migeon. Hetch Hetchy Dome, at 6,197ft (1,889m), lies directly north of it. In an effort to build this support, he published his bookThe Yosemitein 1912. 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. [8] Rancheria Falls is located farther southeast, on Rancheria Creek. Loss of the reservoir would decrease the Bay Areas water and energy security, requiring new water storage (possibly in reservoirs not owned by San Francisco) and the development of new water and energy supplies. [28][29] About 1853, his brother, Joseph Screech (credited in some accounts for the original discovery of the valley)[27] blazed the first trail from Big Oak Flat, a mining camp near present-day Lake Don Pedro,[30] for 38mi (61km) northeast to Hetch Hetchy Valley. That trip is a 19.1-mile (22.9 km) out and back, or you can turn the hike into a loop that returns past Rancheria Falls (28.2 miles, 45.4 km). . For functional purposes, Hetch Hetchy was a promising solution to San Francisco's serious water shortages. He produced at least four oil paintings of the valley one of which is prominently displayed in Mount Holyoke Colleges art museum. Furthermore, they provided a place for the wild plants and creatures to live out their own lives, according to their purposes. The first is utilitarian conservation. Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. The O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923 and, after the . [15] When the glacier retreated for the final time, sediment-laden meltwater deposited thick layers of silt, forming the flat alluvial floodplain of the valley floor. Photo: Chris Migeon Note: you may use the handout or navigate to our feature on the Hetch Hetchy Environmental Debates to access the overview and copy of the Raker Bill. 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. "[32], In 1867, Charles F. Hoffman of the California Geological Survey conducted the first survey of the valley. In some cases, however, including the Klamath and Hetch Hetchy, the benefits of restoration clearly outweigh the benefits provided by the dams. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. [42] They claimed the valley was not unique and would be even more beautiful with a lake. 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. It is only a cut in the hills through which the Tuolumne River runs, but if you think there might be a valley keep looking and if you find such a place I will give it to you., Nate went on looking for the valley. [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. Learn what to expect from Mirror Lake in various seasons. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. 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.. The San Francisco Bulletin printed a Dec. 1, 1913, story calling the bills opponents a crowd ofnature lovers and fakers, who are waging a sentimental campaign to preserve the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a public playground, a purpose for which it has never been used.. In contrast to the utilitarian view, the preservationist approach denied the assumption that the natural world existed solely to serve mans purposes. He was opposed by then Mayor Diane Feinstein who argued that the dam was San Franciscans birthright. . 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. Once again, the political pendulum had swung. The . 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. [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). Seventeen species of bats inhabit the Hetch Hetchy area, including the largest North American bat, the western mastiff. ", "San Francisco-Hetch Hetchy Valley Connection", "Hetch Hetchy controversy: Could Yosemite's 'second valley' be restored? 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. The Dam flooded about nine miles of the river, including the Hetch Hetchy valley. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. At full capacity, the reservoir stretches eight miles (13 km) upstream of the OShaughnessy Dam. "[19], People have lived in Hetch Hetchy Valley for over 6,000 years. John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, condemned plans to build the dam, saying, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! 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. Required fields are marked *. 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). [56] All four pipelines cross the Hayward fault. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life . Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. If the nation set aside some natural places as especially sacred, how far beyond their borders should a sense of the sacred extend? We can't help it either. 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). 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. 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. She says the water first leaves Hetch Hetchy through the O'Shaughnessy Dam. Since the valley was within Yosemite National Park, an act of Congress was needed to authorize the project. A national debate ensued between the preservationist and conservationist factions of the young environmental movement. 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. Within 50 years, vegetative cover would be complete except for exposed rocky areas. The upcountry portion of the System begins with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. [37][38] However, ranchers who had previously owned land in the new park continued their use of Hetch Hetchy Valley a "sheep-grazing free-for-all [that] threatened to denude the High Sierra meadows"[37] before disputes over state and private properties in respect to national park boundaries were finally settled in the early 1900s. What part should mountains, rivers, natural meadows or wild creatures play in American life? Even before it was finished, the massive . 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? 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. A) human well-being B) renewable energy C) environmental sustainability D) cultural services E) human population growth, The current total world population has just passed ________. 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. San Francisco applied once again for rights to Hetch Hetchy in 1908. While the dialogue around the West's water wars has been concentrated on the Colorado River and the alarming decline of Lake Powell and Lake Mead, watersheds across the Western United States are feeling the effects of a rapidly aridifying landscape due to climate change. There are four fundamental ways in which dams damage rivers. [8], While its cousin Yosemite Valley to the south had permanent Miwok settlements,[25] Hetch Hetchy was only seasonally inhabited. Its a a wonderful place to see spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. Hetch Hetchy's restoration, after all, will benefit national . [58], Water from Hetch Hetchy is some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States; San Francisco is one of six U.S. cities not required by law to filter its tap water, although the water is disinfected by ozonation and, since 2011, exposure to UV. Even a short stroll from the car gives a magnificent view of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir from the OShaughnessy Dam. The Freeman Report artfully depicted reservoirs in Norway, the United Kingdom and the eastern United States showing how nature and public utility worked together to improve their surroundings and provide long-term benefits for everyone. [54][55], After passing through the powerhouses, Hetch Hetchy water flows into the 167mi (269km) Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley. Many examples of red-barked manzanita can be seen along the Hetch Hetchy Road. And, as you might imagine, it produces some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. [2] [70] Hodel called for a study of the effect of tearing down the dam. 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. [6][7], Upstream from the valley lies the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, while the smaller Poopenaut Valley is directly downstream from O'Shaughnessy Dam. 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. 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 . [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. [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. Expect delicious meals and hearty portions to fuel your adventure or beat that post-hiking hunger. Second, the sanctity of the national parks which they believed should not be violated. Her poetic descriptions of Hetch hetchy won her the attention of powerful members of Congress. DWRs meta-study found a range of costs from $3 billion to $10 billion for restoration and replacement of water and power sources. Then it travels through a series of mountain tunnels. This trail is 13 miles round-trip with 3,700 feet elevation gain. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. After Hetch Hetchy, many realized the National Parks needed more protection. More Than Just Parks | National Parks Guides. As we learned from Rachel Carsons Silent Spring, humankind can damage the environment while attempting to control it. The falls roar in spring and early summer. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within the Yosemite National Park, supplies 85% of the water needs of San Francisco and surrounding counties. You could miss this small mountain community if you blink at the wrong time, but it is home to a few remarkable small businesses. An advantage which Phelan, Pinchot and other supporters of the dam project enjoyed was a divided opposition. In 2007, in approving the environmental impact report for the Water System Improvement Program an investment of more than $4 billion to shore up the seismic reliability of the Hetch Hetchy water system the SFPUC gave itself, and its wholesale customers on the peninsula, ten years to develop a plan that would identify reliable alternative sources of water to meet the regions future growth in demand, rather than diverting more water from the Tuolumne River. Muir observed:[3]. benefits of hetch hetchy dam. 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. The Poopenaut Trail begins at a signed trailhead four miles past the entrance station. It is the source of water for the city of San Francisco. The proposed ballot measure calls for the creation of a task force that would spend $8 million to develop a long-term plan for improving water quality and reliability, remediating environmental damages caused by the water supply system, and identifying new water and renewable energy supplies so that Hetch Hetchy Valley could be returned to the National Park Service. The 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. First, they block rivers which prevents fish from migrating. For your last day, enjoy a short hike on the shores of the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. [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. Native American cultures were prominent before the 1850s when the first settlers from the United States arrived in the Sierra Nevada. In the Bay Area, Hetch Hetchy water is stored in local facilities including Calaveras Reservoir, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and San Antonio Reservoir. As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man . Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. [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. Exactly how San Francisco won the right to transform the bucolic valley into a Earn $27.3125 per hour. Hetch Hetchy Valley, dammed and flooded in the 1920s despite bitter opposition from Sierra Club founder John Muir, provides drinking water for an estimated 2 million people in the San Francisco . Had it been, the Sierra Clubs members would have presented a united front in opposition to its development. 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). The Hetch Hetchy dam is upstream on the Tuolumne River from a reservoir nearly six times as large. Guests at these suites receive breakfast on their patios. [47] On October 28, 1934 twenty years after the beginning of construction on the Hetch Hetchy project a crowd of 20,000 San Franciscans gathered to celebrate the arrival of the first Hetch Hetchy water in the city. So visit Hetch Hetchy. (Read SPURs analysis of this plan.) SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 | (415) 781-8726 | [emailprotected], 2023 SPUR Privacy Policy 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Tax Identification: 94-1498232, a member-supported nonprofit organization. "[34], When Yosemite Valley became part of a state park in 1864, Hetch Hetchy received no such designation. This time, in favor of those who wanted to build the dam. [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. "[85] However, she does support breaching the dam once it has reached the end of its lifespan, and not replacing it. At the time, neither side understood the long-range consequences of human actions to manage the environment. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . 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.
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