Muir and other defenders of Hetch Hetchy believe the fight revolved around two central issues. [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. Located at 3,900 feet, it boasts one of the longest hiking seasons in the park. . In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned another study that found enormous recreational value from removing the dam. The inadequacy of the citys existing water supply came into sharp focus. Yet it also highlighted the division within the conservation movement over two fundamental principles: utilitarian conservation versus preservation. SPUR wholeheartedly agrees that planning for water quality and reliability is important. What Happens When You Remove a Dam? - Hetch Hetchy Reservoir It is the primary water source for about 2.5 million residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo 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. [18], Due to its abundant wetlands and stream pools, Hetch Hetchy was notorious among early travelers for becoming infested with mosquitoes in the summertime. We have historic photographs to remind us of what Hetch Hetchy Valley looked like before the dam was built. On returning home, he asked an Indian chief the name of the valley. 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. Call 209-372-0200 for the latest road and weather conditions, Hetch Hetchy Road Daily Hours: 8 am to 5 pm. It would be almost impossible to build a new dam there today. . [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. He had journeyed to Washington to lobby the federal government on behalf of the project. Why we must restore Hetch Hetchy - SFGATE The same features that make Hetch Hetchy Valley so spectacular also make it an ideal location for a dam. 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. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. Muir predicted that this lake would create an unsightly "bathtub ring" around its perimeter, caused by the water's destruction of lichen growth on the canyon walls,[44] which would inevitably be visible at low lake levels. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is interesting from an ideological perspective. [5] Chief Tenaya of the Yosemite Valley's Ahwaneechee tribe claimed that Hetch Hetchy was Miwok for "Valley of the Two Trees", referring to a pair of yellow pines that once stood at the head of Hetch Hetchy. (Read SPURs analysis of this plan.) But what about when the lake dries? There is no Starbucks here no daily parade of tour buses and RVs. View of the OShaughnessy Dam and the Hetchy Hetchy Road and parking. Hidden in Yosemite National Parks peaceful northwest corner, Hetch Hetchy Valley is a treasure worth visiting in all seasons. Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river . The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. Slow-moving reservoirs heat up, resulting in abnormal temperature fluctuations which can affect sensitive species. Argument Against The Hetchy Dam - 587 Words - Internet Public Library Muir concludes his treatise on Hetch Hetchy with the now familiar words, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! benefits of hetch hetchy dam. The trail continues to climb for 1.8 miles (2.8 km) above the trail intersection, but you can turn around any time. During summer, people of the Miwok and Paiute came to Hetch Hetchy from the Central Valley in the west and the Great Basin in the east. Hetch Hetchy and Ackerson Meadow: Wildflowers and Bats And, as you might imagine, it produces some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States. Sign up for the email list and join an active community of monthly readers. Now San Francisco wanted to dam one of the two principal watersheds in the park, the Hetch Hetchy valley through which ran the Tuolumne River, to create a reservoir for its water supply. But the ultra-liberal President Woodrow Wilson signed off in 1913 on the multi-decade construction of a series of dams within Yosemite National Park that flooded Hetch Hetchy Valley to create a massive reservoir, hydroelectric plants, and a 167-mile aqueduct for the sole benefit of the City of San Francisco. It involved the unintended consequences of efforts to shape the environment to meet human needs. As Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Fills, Environmentalists Still Dream of The trail includes spectacular views of Tueeulala and Wapama Falls. 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. John Muir once described Hetch Hetchy Valley as, a grand landscape garden, one of Natures rarest and most precious mountain temples.. A national debate ensued between the preservationist and conservationist factions of the young environmental movement. 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. Klamath Dam Removal Applauded by Newsom, Haaland et al., How About 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. We would be trading flooded acres in one place for flooded acres in another. Those who did visit it were enchanted by its scenery, but encountered difficulties with the primitive conditions and, in summertime, swarms of mosquitoes. Gray pine, incense-cedar, and California black oak grow in abundance. Glaciers followed these low-points, leaving their own marks in particular carving out the characteristic U-shaped valley with steep sides and wide floor. But Hetch Hetchy, one of nature's perfect . The Hetch Hetchy Valley: A Reservoir In The Sierra Nevada Mountains Of 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 . One route begins six miles beyond the entrance station. It pitted a powerful city against a dedicated group of conservationists. In spite of Muirs eloquent and heated objections, the Raker Act was signed into law in December of 1913. Guests at these suites receive breakfast on their patios. . Hetch Hetchy is unique because of its small holding capacity in comparison to the vast watershed feeding it. Winter storms fill Hetch Hetchy, renew debate about reservoir's future Photo: Kim Lawson. The Hetch Hetchy dam is upstream on the Tuolumne River from a reservoir nearly six times as large. The main power facility in the system, the Moccasin Powerhouse, began commercial operation on August 14, 1925. The larger issues at stake would frame environmental debates for years to come. It is spectacular: a miles-long placid blue lake nested within towering granite cliffs, from which waterfalls cascade. . 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 battle for Hetch Hetchy wasnt just conservationists vs preservationists. The SFPUC and other Hetch Hetchy users are currently implementing plans to meet this demand through recycled water, groundwater and conservation. Right next to the Lucky Buck Cafe, youll find the Yosemite Westgate Lodge and Buck Meadows Lodge. The construction of the Hetch Hetchy Railroad took place from 1915 to 1918. On a national stage, Hetch Hetchy became caught in the cross fire between the interests of private utilities ownership and those of municipal ownership. That reservoir is New Don Pedro, and it rests over existing pipelines to the Bay Area. The dam is a small portion of the overall Tuolumne River/San Francisco storage system that benefits the Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy Water's Epic Journey, From Mountains to Tap Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. 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. It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite National Park, California The Greatest . The battle over Hetch Hetchy was a fight to determine whether a beautiful valley would remain in its natural state or service the growing city of San Franciscos water needs. According to a local legend, Nate spotted a valley to the east that was too far to visit. Said San Francisco resident William Denman in 1918, "The first time I went into the Hetch Hetchy the mosquitoes were intolerable. 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. It's a big job to open the tunnel and close it again. Photo: Chris Migeon. And Hetch Hetchy's damming has inspired generations of conservationists to protect our natural heritage and to commit to safeguarding our protected areas. [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). [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. Let the dam at Hetch Hetchy stand - sfchronicle.com [85] The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir itself store 85% of the City's overall drinking water supply, the remaining 15% is stored in the system's 5 other reservoirs. In 1967 the Robert C. Kirkwood Powerhouse started commercial operation followed by a New Moccasin Powerhouse in 1969 when the Old Moccasin Powerhouse was taken out of service. Third, dams alter natural habitats and change the ways in which rivers function. [40] By the 1880s, San Francisco was looking to Hetch Hetchy water as a fix for its outdated and unreliable water system. Healthy fish populations - by releasing sufficient instream flows for spawning and rearing downstream - sometimes to mitigate for the loss of spawning habitat caused by their construction, and [77][78], The economic wisdom of removing the dam has been frequently questioned. Topic: Hoover Dam - Water Education Foundation There is a third concept, too, though it was little understood at the time. Hetch Hetchy ushered in a new era for the national parks. Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages As well dam for water tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.'. [2] The dam and reservoir are the centerpiece of the Hetch Hetchy Project, which in 1934 began to deliver water 167 miles (269km) west to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. That's about twice the amount of power lost when Hetch Hetchy will be restored. San Francisco applied once again for rights to Hetch Hetchy in 1908. Building the Hetch Hetchy dam in such a remote location was an enormous project. The fundamental issue involved two concepts. 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. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Water System As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.. Giving a Dam: Congress Debates Hetch Hetchy - George Mason University This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels.
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