This strenuous 2.5-mile, round-trip hike to the Tuolumne River has 1,229 feet of elevation gain. Would there be any room in an acquisitive society for wildness, or for non material spiritual values?. This time, in favor of those who wanted to build the dam. 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. The openings in the Taft administration led to the eventual success of the Raker Act. California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. 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. 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. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. As we all know, there is no use of water that is higher than the domestic use., He went on to say, We come straight to the question of whether the advantage of leaving this valley in a state of nature is greater than the advantage of using it for the benefit of the city of San Francisco.. 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. . 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. There is a third concept, too, though it was little understood at the time. [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. 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. As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man . Third, dams alter natural habitats and change the ways in which rivers function. You could miss this small mountain community if you blink at the wrong time, but it is home to a few remarkable small businesses. But Sites would be what's called an off-channel reservoir, built away from the river. Formerly called Buck Meadows Restaurant and Bar, the new caf crosses rustic-mountain flair with roadside cafe friendliness. 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. Photo: Chris Migeon Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. This valley was isolated and remote, twenty miles northwest of the original. Teams completed the OShaughnessy Dam in 1923 and the reservoir filled for the first time in May of that year. 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. Upcountry and the Bay Area. Water could be diverted into the Kirkwood and Moccasin Powerhouses using lower-impact diversion dams, providing power generation on a seasonal basis, and the enlarged height at Don Pedro would also increase power generation there. [30] After the valley's native inhabitants were driven out by the newcomers, it was used by ranchers, many of whom were former miners, to graze livestock. There are many places to stop and enjoy views of the rushing water before turning around to return to your car. Like Muir, he was totally transfixed by the Hetch Hetchy Valley. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. The privately owned Spring Valley Water Company had required its customers to pay exorbitant rates for years. Even if we could obtain the several billion dollars necessary to carry out this endeavor (neither private nor public sources have yet been identified) some of the tasks involved may not even be possible. Once the glaciers retreated, tributaries leading into the main river were left hanging hundreds or thousands of feet above the valley floor, creating the beautiful waterfalls we know today. . At full capacity, the reservoir stretches eight miles (13 km) upstream of the OShaughnessy Dam. 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. Building the Hetch Hetchy dam in such a remote location was an enormous project. Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. Use good judgment and stay safe. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within the Yosemite National Park, supplies 85% of the water needs of San Francisco and surrounding counties. [67], Those in opposition of dam removal state that demolishing O'Shaughnessy Dam would take away a valuable source of clean, renewable hydroelectric power in the Kirkwood and Moccasin powerhouses; even if measures such as seasonal water diversion into the powerhouses were employed, it would only make up for a fraction of the original power production. The first people, outside of Native Americans, to see the Hetch Hetchy Valley were Joseph, Nate and William Screechin 1850. If the nation set aside some natural places as especially sacred, how far beyond their borders should a sense of the sacred extend? Not far from there, youll find more budget-minded lodging at Buck Meadows Lodge. Enjoy elegant touches like wrap-around porches, and fresh-baked cookies served daily. Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the valley the perfect location for a dam. Seventeen species of bats inhabit the Hetch Hetchy area, including the largest North American bat, the western mastiff. Plus, they needed a way to bring supplies and workers into the mountains. The trail continues to climb for 1.8 miles (2.8 km) above the trail intersection, but you can turn around any time. Instead, the magnificence of a valley often described as Yosemite Valleys slightly smaller twin takes center stage. (In fact partially because it is so difficult and destructive to build large dams, we are running out of new supplies of water in California.) Second, the sanctity of the national parks which they believed should not be violated. 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. 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. 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 . It's a big job to open the tunnel and close it again. Everyone who drinks water or takes a shower in San Francisco should go. The Great Alaskan Land Fraud and the Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy caused both Richard A. Ballinger and Gifford Pinchot to resign and be fired respectively. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate. Hoffman observed a meadow "well timbered and affording good grazing", and noted the valley had a milder climate than Yosemite Valley, hence the abundance of ponderosa pine and gray pine. As a consequence, visitors came to experience it for themselves. For thousands of years, Native Americans subjected the valley to controlled bushfires, which prevented forest from taking over the valley meadows. The glacially-carved U-shaped valley floor maximizes the amount of water stored in the reservoir. 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. If youre especially in the mood to relax and let yourself be taken care of, The Blackberry Inn is a luxury bed and breakfast situated on 36 acres and surrounded by National Forest land. On a national stage, Hetch Hetchy became caught in the cross fire between the interests of private utilities ownership and those of municipal ownership. 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. Sign up for helpful guides, beautiful videos, and insider tips on the national parks. ", "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. benefits of hetch hetchy dam. Would that be an improvement? Application Opening: February 10, 2023 Application Filing Deadline: March 3, 2023 Hourly Compensation: $27.3125 Recruitment ID: RTF0131751-01138303 (131752) APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Exempt: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. There are thousands of dams in the United States. Fortunately, that time has not yet come, so this November, vote no on the Water Sustainability and Environmental Restoration Planning Act of 2012. Lets keep Hetch Hetchy around for the forseeable future. . Instead, it was a more complicated battle which pitted public interests against private interests. Learn what to expect from Mirror Lake in various seasons. So visit Hetch Hetchy. The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. The reservoir supplies water for the city of San Francisco, so there is no recreational boating or swimming allowed. [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). Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. 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. That reservoir is New Don Pedro, and it rests over existing pipelines to the Bay Area. [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. The most prominent preservationist spokesman was John Muir.. The valley floor consisted of roughly 1,200 acres (490ha) of meadows fringed by pine forest, through which meandered the Tuolumne River and numerous tributary streams. Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. Since the valley was within Yosemite National Park, an act of Congress was needed to authorize the project. View of the OShaughnessy Dam and the Hetchy Hetchy Road and parking. An anthropocentrist would agree with building the dam in the park without taking into consideration what the dam would do to the already existing ecosystem due to not caring about the established animals and plants. Camping included, if needed; limited sites are shared among all the . This can be very disorienting to fish and disrupt their migrations as they depend on steady streams and flows to guide them. Many examples of red-barked manzanita can be seen along the Hetch Hetchy Road. 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. Some of these studies determined that the idea of draining the reservoir was technically feasible but incredibly costly. Get SPUR news and events delivered straight to your email inbox. Hetch Hetchy Valley, far from being a plain, common, rock-bound meadow, as many who have not seen it seem to suppose, is a grand landscape garden, one of Nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. An adjacent building contains another five suites with vaulted ceilings, forest views and soaking tubs. As of October 2022, Hetch Hetchy was at 77.5% of its capacity. 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. The city must pay a lease of $30,000 per year for the use of Hetch Hetchy, which sits on federal land. For all the similarities between Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley, there is one enormous difference the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. 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. The water is transported from the reservoir by the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which is made up of 170 miles of gravity-driven pipelines, dams, and other reservoirs. Earn $27.3125 per hour. Yosemite Westgate Lodge offers newly-remodeled and well-appointed modern accommodation. Only a tiny proportion of Yosemites visitors explore this out-of-the-way corner of the national park. [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. 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. In 2006, the California State Department of Water Resources (DWR) and Department of Parks and Recreation evaluated the cost estimates of multiple feasibility studies conducted between 1988 and 2005. Environmentalists lost what was the opening battle in a fight to preserve Americas natural wonders. Although Hetch Hetchy is included within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, the entrance is separate from the rest of the park. He produced at least four oil paintings of the valley one of which is prominently displayed in Mount Holyoke Colleges art museum. [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. Apply Today! [41], In 1906, after a major earthquake and subsequent fire that devastated San Francisco, the inadequacy of the city's water system was made tragically clear. It is the primary water source for about 2.5 million residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. 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. Rancheria Falls itself is a series of whitewater cascades that crashes through a narrow canyon on its way to the reservoir. Each switchback reveals scenic overlooks of the reservoir and Kolana Rock. Expect delicious meals and hearty portions to fuel your adventure or beat that post-hiking hunger. It was the second tallest dam in the U.S. at the time. For most of the year the waterfall offers a refreshing shower or cooling mist along with an amazing view. Wapama and Rancheria Falls Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. 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. As Muir famously protested: Dam Hetch Hetchy? It has not been demonstrated that Hetch Hetchy is the only available source, but only that it might be the cheapest. The water winds between granite features like Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome. Hours: Year-round, but only accessible by car when the Hetch Hetchy Road is open. Monroe went on to lobby members of Congress as the battle moved to Washington D.C. She was a tireless advocate who believed that people needed to be educated in order to do what was best for everyone involved. 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 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. The battle over the Hetch Hetchy, in part, was a fight over public versus private ownership of vital resources such as water. Standing upon it will give you the chance to appreciate the sublimity of both nature and human achievement. This ballot measure is so problematic that SPUR has taken early action to oppose it. Start by hiking across the OShaughnessy Dam then turn east along the shore of the reservoir. 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. 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. 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. (Source: American Rivers, How Dams Damage Rivers). Two additional reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy RegionLake Eleanor and Lake Lloyd (also strongly against restoration. [5] Local legend attributes the modern name Hetch Hetchy to Screech's initial arrival in the valley, during which he observed the Native Americans "cooking a variety of grass covered with edible seeds", which they called "hatch hatchy" or "hatchhatchie". Congress, confronted with rising public opposition, refused to act on the measure. Just before reaching the Bay Area, it passes through the Irvington tunnel near the city of Fremont, and the aqueduct splits into four pipelines at 373253N 1215555W / 37.548104N 121.932041W / 37.548104; -121.932041. [18], Due to its abundant wetlands and stream pools, Hetch Hetchy was notorious among early travelers for becoming infested with mosquitoes in the summertime. In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. For instance, the WET company helps people see the beauty of water through magnificent water fountains. ", "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. [8], Meadow plants unavailable in the lowlands were particularly valuable resources to these tribes. San Francisco could flood the valley and work began the following year. Had it been, the Sierra Clubs members would have presented a united front in opposition to its development. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. 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). Franklin Lane served as the attorney for the city of San Francisco in 1903. A recent report evaluates the economic benefits of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. They would light upon a man's blue shirt and turn it brown, and were voracious as mosquitoes would be. 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. 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. There, he met the same Indian chief and his wives. Such new supplies are not guaranteed to have the low greenhouse gas emissions profile that Hetch Hetchy water and power do and they could worsen climate change while increasing our vulnerability to it. As the grazing of livestock damaged native plants in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, mountaineer and naturalist John Muir pressed for the protection of both valleys under a single national park. 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. In this unmanaged scenario, where nature is left to take hold in the valley, eventually a forest would grow, rather than the meadow being restored. [79] Some observers, such as Carl Pope (director of the Sierra Club), stated that Hodel had political motives[80] in proposing the study. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. Due to its high-altitude location at 3,900 feet above sea level and its snowmelt-fed water supply, water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir behind O'Shaughnessy Dam does not require filtration. Building a dam there was off the table. An advantage which Phelan, Pinchot and other supporters of the dam project enjoyed was a divided opposition. Activity 1: Analysis. They poured an estimated total of more than 398,000 cubic yards (304,000 cubic meters) of concrete to form the dam. About one million years ago, the extensive Sherwin glaciation widened, deepened and straightened river valleys along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, including Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley, and Kings Canyon farther to the south. If you want to follow the old railroad line today, the Hetch Hetchy Road and most of the Mather Road were built on the old railroad bed and are beautiful scenic drives as well. The history of Californias growth is inextricably linked to the search for water. 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. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. The report cited other dam projects in making the argument that this project would increase tourism. [21][33] Albert Bierstadt, Charles Dorman Robinson and William Keith were known for their landscapes that drew tourists to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, youll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. 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. Muir and other defenders of Hetch Hetchy believe the fight revolved around two central issues. Hetch Hetchy ushered in a new era for the national parks. ", "Three Square Miles of Open Space: Is It Enough? The proposed study would also have been required to identify potential replacements for the water storage capacity and hydroelectric power production.[87][88]. Denouncing dam proponents as greedy, he wrote, These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the Mountains, life them to the Almighty Dollar. The battle for Hetch Hetchy wasnt just conservationists vs preservationists. The second concept is preservation. Yet environmentalists have dreamed of restoring the dramatic valley along the Tuolumne River, which was filled in by the lake when the dam was built in 1938 under the New Deal. [73] Furthermore, the removal of O'Shaughnessy Dam would not require costly sediment control measures, as would be typical on most dam removal projects, because of the high quality of the Tuolumne River water in the first 90 years since its construction, only around 2in (5.1cm) of sediment had been deposited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, much less than most other dams. 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. Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". Could you imagine building a dam inside a national park today? The water shunted through them about 218 million gallons a day arrives in most city taps by gravity alone. "[83], Opponents of dam removal have pointed out that the flooding of the Hetch Hetchy Valley has also deterred the crowds that overrun other areas of Yosemite National Park. 406 California Historical Landmark)", "John Muir's Yosemite: The father of the conservation movement found his calling on a visit to the California wilderness", "Timeline of the Ongoing Battle Over Hetch Hetchy", "The Hetch Hetchy Letters: If a Group of Intellectuals Argues in a Forest, and then that Forest is Submerged Under Water, Does Their Argument Matter? Yet it also highlighted the division within the conservation movement over two fundamental principles: utilitarian conservation versus preservation. Then, in 1906, a devastating earthquake caused a series of fires in San Francisco that destroyed 25,000 buildings across 490 city blocks. Through the manipulation of water, the company also had the power to determine which real estate became valuable and which languished. To visit the waterfalls or Yosemites northern backcountry, you walk across OShaughnessy Dam. That's about twice the amount of power lost when Hetch Hetchy will be restored. 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. 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.