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. The imputed motive was to divide the environmental movement: to see residents of the strongly Democratic city of San Francisco coming out against an environmental issue. The water shunted through them about 218 million gallons a day arrives in most city taps by gravity alone. Photo: Theresa Ho, Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. Muir famously said, Dam Hetch Hetchy! As Muir famously protested: Dam Hetch Hetchy? Subsequent proposals for development in our national parks have been defeated by citizen activists inspired by calls to remember Hetch Hetchy. 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. .
"Dam Hetch Hetchy!": John Muir Contests the Hetch-Hetchy Dam 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? The fundamental issue involved two concepts. In the early 20th century, San Francisco flooded the Hetch Hetchy Valley, destroying "one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." This is why the city can now ban new natural gas. Fourth, dams alter water quality. [13], Hetch Hetchy is home to a diverse array of plants and animals. Some of these studies determined that the idea of draining the reservoir was technically feasible but incredibly costly. Enjoy elegant touches like wrap-around porches, and fresh-baked cookies served daily. 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. 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. This can be very disorienting to fish and disrupt their migrations as they depend on steady streams and flows to guide them. It is the source of water for the city of San Francisco. Smith Peak (7,751 feet) is the highest point in the area and offers outstanding views. Since then, the "Hetch Hetchy System" has continued to grow, now including nine impoundments . [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. [24] It is likely that the edible grass was blue dicks. It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. 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. Start by hiking across the OShaughnessy Dam then turn east along the shore of the reservoir. Second, dams slow rivers. Once again, the political pendulum would swing. Specialty pricing may require . High temperatures prevail in summer months, but that is a small price to pay for the reward of vast wilderness filled with stunning peaks, hidden canyons, and remote lakes. 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). Learn what to expect from Mirror Lake in various seasons. Formerly called Buck Meadows Restaurant and Bar, the new caf crosses rustic-mountain flair with roadside cafe friendliness. The Tuolumne River, the source of. Activity 1: Analysis. [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. To get the electricity they would need, they first built a smaller dam at Lake Eleanor. No spam. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. 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. 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. [2] Glaciers followed these low-points, leaving their own marks in particular carving out the characteristic U-shaped valley with steep sides and wide floor. ", "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. 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 ________. 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. Some hydro-power dams withhold and then release water to generate power for peak demand periods, which is particularly disruptive to migrating fish. The larger issues at stake would frame environmental debates for years to come. strongly against restoration. The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13 km). As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the park's natural wonders. This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels. It's dumb, dumb, dumb. 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..
Hetch Hetchy and Ackerson Meadow: Wildflowers and Bats [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. You can expect one (short) email per month. The dam also provides flood control, irrigation, and water storage along the Colorado River. A) 5 billion B . 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. Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. In the sum of American economic expansion the intrusion might have seemed a minor, obscure matter, but to [John] Muir immense issues were involved: why had the nation preserved that pure wildness in the first place? Horace Albright, the second director of the National Park Service, wrote that Franklin Lanes appointment to the cabinet was made specifically for the purpose of pushing this [Hetch Hetchy project], the so-called Raker-Pittman Bill. (Source: The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy, Robert W. Righter). It pitted a powerful city against a dedicated group of conservationists. Camping included, if needed; limited sites are shared among all the . Put another way, if Congress denied the city of San Francisco the Hetch Hetchy Valley, the California Progressive leaders suspected that it would only be a matter of time before the emerging Pacific Gas and Electric Company would grab the area.
Dbq Hetchy Project - 663 Words | Internet Public Library [8], While its cousin Yosemite Valley to the south had permanent Miwok settlements,[25] Hetch Hetchy was only seasonally inhabited. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. No picture of the giant sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park manages to fully capture their immense size and majesty. [53], As completed, O'Shaughnessy Dam is 910 feet (280m) long, spanning the valley at its narrow outlet. [17] The valley's abundant plants provided nourishment for mule deer, black bears and bighorn sheep. This 1910 view shows Kolana Rock and Tueeulala Falls in the background.
O'Shaughnessy Dam (California) - Wikipedia Hetch Hetchy | Hetch Hetchy Dam & Reservoir History | Yosemite.com If, on the other hand, San Francisco gained control, it would signal in important victory for public power resulting in lower rates for the people. Albert Bierstadt was known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West. Hetch Hetchy's restoration, after all, will benefit national . From 1901 - 1913, John Muir led the Sierra Club in a campaign to protect the Hetch Hetchy Valley, a part of Yosemite National Park, from being filled by a reservoir. This valley was isolated and remote, twenty miles northwest of the original. Before damming, the high granite formations produced a valley with an average depth of 1,800ft (550m) and a maximum depth of over 3,000ft (910m); the length of the valley was 3mi (4.8km) with a width ranging from .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}18 to 12 mile (660 to 2,640ft; 200 to 800m). If the nation set aside some natural places as especially sacred, how far beyond their borders should a sense of the sacred extend? For thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from the United States in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native Americans who practiced subsistence hunting-gathering. But Hetch Hetchy, one of nature's perfect . Located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, the dam captures water from the . In November 2012, San Francisco voters soundly rejected Proposition F,[86] which would have required the city to conduct an $8 million study on how the flooded valley could be drained and restored to its former state. One route begins six miles beyond the entrance station. Dam Hetch Hetchy!
Hetch Hetchy Water's Epic Journey, From Mountains to Tap The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13km). 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. California O Shaughnessy Dam Analysis 1428 Words | 6 Pages.
As Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Fills, Environmentalists Still Dream of [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. Friday, enjoy an evening about bats starting at 7 pm. Not far from there, youll find more budget-minded lodging at Buck Meadows Lodge. DWRs meta-study found a range of costs from $3 billion to $10 billion for restoration and replacement of water and power sources. 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. Monroe was a Chicago poet who joined Muir and others on their 1908 and 1909 outings to the valley. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life . The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. This limits their ability to access spawning habitat, seek out food resources, and escape predation. There are four fundamental ways in which dams damage rivers.
Storage and Delivery Updates | SFPUC Muir observed:[3]. The other route begins at the entrance station and is 16 miles round-trip with 3,300 feet of elevation gain. Gravel, logs, and other important food and habitat features can become trapped. 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. Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. This is a place considered by John Muir to be equal in beauty to Yose. Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. That's about twice the amount of power lost when Hetch Hetchy will be restored. To visit the waterfalls or Yosemites northern backcountry, you walk across OShaughnessy Dam. [21][33] Albert Bierstadt, Charles Dorman Robinson and William Keith were known for their landscapes that drew tourists to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Located at 3,900 feet, it boasts one of the longest hiking seasons in the park. In the distance, long white plumes of water cascade hundreds of feet down from rocky heights. . "[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. 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. Including additions made between 1934 and 1938, the dam currently stands 430 feet (131 m) above the bedrock below.
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (Yosemite National Park) - Tripadvisor 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. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Photo: Chris Migeon [31], During this time, the upper Tuolumne River, including Hetch Hetchy Valley, was visited by prospectors attracted by the California Gold Rush.
Hiking Hetch Hetchy: the unknown Yosemite National Park - 2TravelDads 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. So the idea of planning for new water supplies need not be on the ballot. Upcountry and the Bay Area. Being one of the biggest hydroelectric facilities in the United States and a National Landmark, Hoover Dam generates power to serve more than 1.3 million people. 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.
Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the valley the perfect location for a dam. [75] The remaining deficit would likely have to be replaced by polluting fossil fuel generation. . Hetch Hetchy doesn't require permit, you need just regular National park pass. can you smoke on royal caribbean cruise ships benefits of hetch hetchy dam.
August 14 Hetch Hetchy Began Producing Power (1925) - Today in [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. Finally, with the railroad complete, teams broke ground on the OShaughnessy Dam on August 1, 1919. They poured an estimated total of more than 398,000 cubic yards (304,000 cubic meters) of concrete to form the dam. Apply Today! Us too! [4] A broad, low rocky outcrop situated between Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome divided the former meadow in two distinct sections. Browers Hetch Hetchy: Undoing A Great American Mistake, makes a compelling case for restoring the valley to its previous glory.
HETCH HETCHY: The Epic Enviro Battle That Changed America [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. Hetch Hetchy, unlike other water storage facilities in California, is relatively buffered from near-term climate change because of its high elevation. In 1923, the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed on the Tuolumne River, flooding the entire valley under the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. OShaughnessy Dam and the waterworks that connect it to the Bay Area are a marvel of engineering. 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. Controversy continues to swirl around the Hetch Hetchy Dam even now. 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. 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. In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. 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. We can't help it either. 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. . 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. [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). history. Finally, in 1988, a third generator was added to the Kirkwood Powerhouse. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within the Yosemite National Park, supplies 85% of the water needs of San Francisco and surrounding counties. Hetch Hetchy and many others were built by .
Off Deadline: Is 'Restore Hetch Hetchy' a pipe dream or a living vision 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 .
Consequences - Hetch Hetchy: The Valley of Broken Promises It's a big job to open the tunnel and close it again. 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). Building a dam there was off the table. [74] A 2019 study commissioned by Restore Hetch Hetchy argued that draining the reservoir and equipping the valley with a tourism infrastructure comparable to that of Yosemite Valley (which receives around 100 times as many visitors annually as Hetch Hetchy's 44,000) could result in a "recreational value" of up to $178 million per year, or possibly an overall economic value of up to $100 billion. 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. Building the Dam. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is interesting from an ideological perspective. 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite.