This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels. [12] During the last glacial period, the Tioga Glacier[13] formed from extensive icefields in the upper Tuolumne River watershed; between 110,000 and 10,000 years ago Hetch Hetchy Valley was sculpted into its present shape by repeated advance and retreat of the ice, which also removed extensive talus deposits that may have accumulated in the valley since the Sherwin period. Muir observed:[3]. 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 spacious rooms include access to a heated swimming pool, spa, playground, and laundry facilities. Then it travels through a series of mountain tunnels. Hetch Hetchy Water and Power also wants to remove the giant bulkhead that seals up the tunnel with 40 nuts and bolts, Ritchie said. Us too! 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. 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. 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. High temperatures prevail in summer months, but its a small price to pay for the reward of vast wilderness filled with stunning peaks, hidden canyons, and remote lakes. Animals were principally driven along Joseph Screech's trail from Big Oak Flat to Hetch Hetchy. Dam the Hetch Hetchy! It is spectacular: a miles-long placid blue lake nested within towering granite cliffs, from which waterfalls cascade. John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, condemned plans to build the dam, saying, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! [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. RELATED: Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks. 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. [49], The narrow defile at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley where San Francisco planned to dam the Tuolumne River, seen in 1914 before construction began, The same area seen today, with O'Shaughnessy Dam and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Hetch Hetchy Valley serves as the primary water source for the City and County of San Francisco and several surrounding municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area. 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. However, the same NPS study also finds that with intensive management, an outcome in which "the entire valley would appear much as it did before construction of the reservoir" is feasible. These benefits include: Reservoir-based recreation - swimming, fishing, camping etc. In the autumn of 1871, John Muir visited Hetch Hetchy for the first time. So the idea of planning for new water supplies need not be on the ballot. The inadequacy of the citys existing water supply came into sharp focus. [59] The water quality is high because of the unique geology of the upper Tuolumne River drainage basin, which consists mostly of bare granite; as a result, the rivers feeding Hetch Hetchy Reservoir have extremely low loads of sediments and nutrients. 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. [21] Miwok names are still used for features, including Tueeulala Fall, Wapama Fall, and Kolana Rock. Use good judgment and stay safe. Copyright © 2023 More Than Just Parks | This post may contain affiliate links - read our Standards, Corrections, & Privacy Policy. No picture of the giant sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park manages to fully capture their immense size and majesty. Building a dam there was off the table. Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. Photo: Herbert W. Gleason courtesy of the Sierra Club. Shasta, Oroville, Hetch Hetchy and many others were built by damming large rivers. The report cited other dam projects in making the argument that this project would increase tourism. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The proposed study would also have been required to identify potential replacements for the water storage capacity and hydroelectric power production.[87][88]. Start by hiking across the OShaughnessy Dam then turn east along the shore of the reservoir. A bigger population will increase demand, meanwhile climate change could significantly reduce supply through drought and hydrological cycle changes. For instance, the WET company helps people see the beauty of water through magnificent water fountains. Standing upon it will give you the chance to appreciate the sublimity of both nature and human achievement. For most of the year the waterfall offers a refreshing shower or cooling mist along with an amazing view. According to a local legend, Nate spotted a valley to the east that was too far to visit. The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. Back in the early nineteen hundreds, when the debate start about The Hetch Hetchy dam being built a large majority of people did not realize or care how valuable nature is. 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. Located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, the dam captures water from the . The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. The first people, outside of Native Americans, to see the Hetch Hetchy Valley were Joseph, Nate and William Screechin 1850. 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. 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. Located at 3,900 feet, Hetch Hetchy boasts one of the longest hiking seasons in the park and is an ideal place for thundering spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. He was opposed by then Mayor Diane Feinstein who argued that the dam was San Franciscans birthright. 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. Watershed Worker (Summer, 2023) - Hetch Hetchy Water & Power (Moccasin) - SFPUC (7542) Job at City and County of San Francisco in Moccasin. Each switchback reveals scenic overlooks of the reservoir and Kolana Rock. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is 430-foot (131 m) high made of concrete and it is named after engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy, who oversaw the entire construction. The other route begins at the entrance station and is 16 miles round-trip with 3,300 feet of elevation gain. In 1987, President Reagans Secretary of the Interior, Donald Hodel, proposed that Hetch Hetchy be restored. 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. As we learned from Rachel Carsons Silent Spring, humankind can damage the environment while attempting to control it. Two additional reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy RegionLake Eleanor and Lake Lloyd (also When youre standing at the shore overlooking what appears to be a lake, picture yourself looking down into a verdant valley filled with the tall native grasses that give the valley its name. The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. . There have been lawsuits over whether San Francisco violated the agreements of the Raker Act. This fight set the stage for future battles between those who believed natural resources were to be used for the greatest good versus those who believed natural resources were to be preserved for the greatest enjoyment. Learn what to expect from Mirror Lake in various seasons. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the parks natural wonders. 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. It has two trailhead options. 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. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. The valley provided an escape from the summer heat of the lowlands. 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. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. This 1910 view shows Kolana Rock and Tueeulala Falls in the background. [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. Building the Hetch Hetchy dam in such a remote location was an enormous project. Most of the dam would remain in place, both to avoid the enormous costs of demolition and removal, and to serve as a monument for the workers who built it. Many examples of red-barked manzanita can be seen along the Hetch Hetchy Road. Expect delicious meals and hearty portions to fuel your adventure or beat that post-hiking hunger. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . The gently rolling terrain has excellent views of the water and eye-catching Kolana Rock, which towers roughly 2,000 feet above. Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, youll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life . Said San Francisco resident William Denman in 1918, "The first time I went into the Hetch Hetchy the mosquitoes were intolerable. [54][55], After passing through the powerhouses, Hetch Hetchy water flows into the 167mi (269km) Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley.
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