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. Two additional reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy RegionLake Eleanor and Lake Lloyd (also Albert Bierstadt was known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West. While opponents of the dam were hard pressed for financial support, the city of San Franciscos campaign was well financed. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the parks natural wonders. 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.
The Dam Rent Is Too Low - PERC As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man . Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages Earn $27.3125 per hour.
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (Yosemite National Park) - Tripadvisor Those who presumed to speak for wealth, much of which flowed to San Francisco, believed they were transforming a pioneer land into a settled, civilized one. 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. 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. It would be almost impossible to build a new dam there today. The Tuolumne River, the source of. Here are just some of the hurdles we would need to cross: Identify water supplies to meet about 18 percent of the regions water demand in dry years (which occur about 20 percent of the time), Permit and build 40 to 90 megawatts of renewable power to supply almost all municipal demand in San Francisco, Build and operate a water-filtration plant, because water stored further downstream than Hetch Hetchy will have to be filtered, Engineer and design a series of expensive and complicated infrastructure projects to re-engineer major components of the regional water system, then get those changes through the environmental review process, Somehow convince senior water-right holders like the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts on the Tuolumne River to let us store our drinking water in their reservoirs. The valley provided an escape from the summer heat of the lowlands.
Argument Against The Hetchy Dam - 587 Words - Internet Public Library Rounding the corner and catching the first glimpses of Hetch Hetchy Valley reveals the play of light on water. Hetch Hetchy is on the main stem of the Tuolumne River and is part of the Tuolumne watershed. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. Indeed, Hetch Hetchy today[when?] 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. The exploitation of Californias natural resources continued unabated in the years leading up to Hetch Hetchy. 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. Furthermore, they provided a place for the wild plants and creatures to live out their own lives, according to their purposes.
Hetch Hetchy Valley Analysis - 1299 Words | Internet Public Library Pinchot argued that applying the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, meant the benefits accrued to the people of San Francisco from having the dam far outweighed leaving the valley in its current state. Even in the summer when Yosemite Valley is being explored by visitors from around the world, Hetch Hetchy remains an oasis of relative calm. Photo: Kim Lawson. This time, in favor of those who wanted to build the dam. The SFPUC and other Hetch Hetchy users are currently implementing plans to meet this demand through recycled water, groundwater and conservation. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. 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. Get SPUR news and events delivered straight to your email inbox. "[34], When Yosemite Valley became part of a state park in 1864, Hetch Hetchy received no such designation. The Great Alaskan Land Fraud and the Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy caused both Richard A. Ballinger and Gifford Pinchot to resign and be fired respectively. 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. Right next to the Lucky Buck Cafe, youll find the Yosemite Westgate Lodge and Buck Meadows Lodge. It was the second tallest dam in the U.S. at the time. To get to Hetch Hetchy, turn north off Highway 120 onto Evergreen Road about 1 mile (2.2 km) outside the Big Oak Flat Entrance gate, and 12.5 miles (20 km) east of the small community of Buck Meadows.
The Engineer as Lobbyist - JSTOR He discovered it a few of years later. [8], Meadow plants unavailable in the lowlands were particularly valuable resources to these tribes. ", "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 Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within the Yosemite National Park, supplies 85% of the water needs of San Francisco and surrounding counties. Seventeen species of bats inhabit the Hetch Hetchy area, including the largest North American bat, the western mastiff. The history of Californias growth is inextricably linked to the search for water. Should nature be left alone so that flora and fauna flourish while people enjoy its primal wonders?
History - Hetch Hetchy - Sierra Club Hetch Hetchy Water & Power plans five-year $140M Mountain Tunnel Fourth, dams alter water quality. Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. Today, descendants of these people still use milkweed, deergrass, bracken fern, willow, and other plants for a variety of uses including baskets, medicines, and string. While John Muir led the fight against building the dam, the opposition was supported by Gifford Pinchot. [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. 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? Hetch Hetchy, for the time being, was safe, and it would not be inundated during Roosevelts watch.. This valley was isolated and remote, twenty miles northwest of the original. As well dam for . 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. Photo: Kim Lawson. 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 . [8], Before damming, the valley floor contained abundant stands of black oaks, live oak, Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and silver fir bordering the meadows, with alder, willow, poplar and dogwood in the riparian zone along the Tuolumne River. 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. Five country-chic rooms in the main building include en suite bathrooms, free WiFi and electric fireplaces. between those who wish to retain the dam and reservoir, and those who wish to drain the reservoir and return Hetch Hetchy Valley to its former state. Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam began in 1919 and was finished in 1923, with the reservoir first filling in May of that year. 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. The fundamental issue involved two concepts. Activity 1: Analysis. Mirror Lakes famous spring-time reflections capture the eye and mind. . Muir observed:[3]. The Hetch Hetchy Dam in the Yosemite Valley, receives the bulk of it's water from the sierra snow pack miles above the reservoir. [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. Not far from there, youll find more budget-minded lodging at Buck Meadows Lodge. What one Secretary of the Interior giveth, another taketh away. It is definitely worth to visit Hetch Hetchy area especially in 2021 when main Yosemite area requires booking permits in advance. Its a a wonderful place to see spring waterfalls and wildflower displays.
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Water System These clean and comfortable rooms also enjoy access to the pool, spa and other facilities at Yosemite Westgate Lodge. As a result, San Francisco secured a reliable and . [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. [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. Your email address will not be published.
Hetch Valley Measure Pits Bay Area Against Environmentalists - The New Instead, the magnificence of a valley often described as Yosemite Valleys slightly smaller twin takes center stage. Should natural resources be used to serve the greatest good for the greatest number? In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. history. From the turn-off, the road winds for 16.5 miles up the old Hetch Hetchy railroad grade (26.5 km) to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, passing many lonely trails along the way. It has two trailhead options. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. In the autumn of 1871, John Muir visited Hetch Hetchy for the first time.
Tom Philp of The Sacramento Bee - The Pulitzer Prizes The reservoir provides water to a large portion of the Bay Area through a 160 mile delivery. [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. Use good judgment and stay safe. Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river .
Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Water Wars - Yosemite National Park Trips In the future, we will certainly need diverse supplies to rely on in a prolonged drought, but we will also need Hetch Hetchy more than ever. After Hetch Hetchy, many realized the National Parks needed more protection. 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. "[22], The valley's name may be derived from a Miwok word earlier anglicized as hatchhatchie, which means "edible grasses"[8][23] or "magpie". In contrast to the utilitarian view, the preservationist approach denied the assumption that the natural world existed solely to serve mans purposes.