How much did it cost to build Hetch Hetchy?
The cost of dismantling the dam that created Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and restoring the glacial gorge that John Muir considered one of the national park's scenic treasures could range from $3 billion to nearly $10 billion, according to a state report released Wednesday.
How much would it cost to restore Hetch Hetchy?
A new report says the valley beneath Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite would be worth $100 billion if we were to drain the reservoir and let the valley return to its natural state.
How long did it take to build the Hetch Hetchy dam?
The Building of the O'Shaughnessy Dam Plus, they needed a way to bring supplies and workers into the mountains. The construction of the Hetch Hetchy Railroad took place from 1915 to 1918. 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.
Who owns Hetch Hetchy dam?
the city of San FranciscoOwned by the city of San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir provides water to 2.7 million residents and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Why was the Hetch Hetchy dam built?
Between 1908 and 1913, Congress debated whether to make a water resource available or preserve a wilderness when the growing city of San Francisco, California proposed building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide a steady water supply.
Can you swim in Hetch Hetchy?
Water Quality: Swimming and boating are prohibited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in order to maintain a clean source of drinking water.
Why should the Hetch Hetchy dam be removed?
according to previous publications on the restoration of hetch hetchy valley, the primary justification for removing the dam and restoring the valley is to reclaim a beautiful landscape that is owned by the american people. Hetch Hetchy Valley (left) is often compared to Yosemite Valley (right).
Is Hetch Hetchy dam still there?
In 1923, the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed on the Tuolumne River, flooding the entire valley under the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir....Hetch Hetchy.Hetch Hetchy ValleyAge10,000–15,000 yearsGeographyLocationYosemite National Park, California, United StatesCoordinates37°56′53″N 119°47′17″W9 more rows
How much water is in Hetch Hetchy today?
Currently, the reservoir is holding 93 billion gallons and continues to rise. The outlook calls for water storage to grow to 117 billion gallons, which is full capacity. During a normal year, snowmelt into the reservoir is enough to fill it completely three times.
Where does San Francisco's drinking water come from?
Our drinking water comes from a variety of protected sources carefully managed by the SFPUC. These sources include surface water stored in reservoirs located in the Sierra Nevada, Alameda County and San Mateo County, and groundwater supplies stored in a deep aquifer located in San Francisco and San Mateo counties.
Who built Hetch Hetchy?
Formed millions of years ago by water and glacial erosion, this stunning valley (half the size of Yosemite Valley) was described by naturalist John Muir as “a grand landscape garden, one of Nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples.” Hetch Hetchy has always been overshadowed by its twin sister, Yosemite Valley ...
Where does Los Angeles get its water from?
The City of Los Angeles' water is a mixture of groundwater pumped from the local area, treated State Water Project water, and water that is imported by the City of Los Angeles from the Owens Valley.
How much water is in Hetch Hetchy today?
Currently, the reservoir is holding 93 billion gallons and continues to rise. The outlook calls for water storage to grow to 117 billion gallons, which is full capacity. During a normal year, snowmelt into the reservoir is enough to fill it completely three times.
Is Hetch Hetchy water treated?
It's a journey that begins at the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park, a source of drinking water that has a well-known and crystal-clear reputation: It's so clear that it isn't filtered - only treated.
What happened to the Hetch Hetchy valley?
Despite opposition from many citizens, including most of the nation's leading newspapers, Congress passed the Raker Act in 1913 allowing the city of San Francisco to destroy Hetch Hetchy. The City built a dam and reservoir, drowning this beautiful valley, even though other less-damaging sites existed.
What is the greatest threat to San Francisco's long term water supply?
The more fire, the greater the threat to the water quality, the dams and other hydroelectric equipment that keep San Francisco sated.
How much water is in Hetch Hetchy?
Today, however, that valley is under 300 feet of water. Building a dam on the Tuolumne River at Hetch Hetchy was fiercely debated when it was proposed in the early 1900s, ...
What river flows through Hetch Hetchy?
The Great Hetch Hetchy Debate. This photo from the early 1900s shows Hetch Hetchy Valley from the southwestern end, with the Tuolumne River flowing through the lower portion of the valley prior to damming. Photo by Isaiah West Taber.
Why did the California courts not have jurisdiction over Hetch Hetchy?
The trial court ruled in San Francisco’s favor in 2016, saying that California courts lack jurisdiction over Hetch Hetchy because the dam there was approved by Congress. So Restore Hetch Hetchy filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals in Fresno, which heard arguments from both sides in May of this year.
When was the Tuolumne dam proposed?
Building a dam on the Tuolumne River at Hetch Hetchy was fiercely debated when it was proposed in the early 1900s, and the reservoir continues to spark controversy today. The latest twist in this long story has just unfolded, and the final chapter is yet to come.
Is Hetch Hetchy preempted under federal law?
In July of this year, the judges affirmed the previous ruling in favor of San Francisco: “The trial court correctly concluded Restore Hetch Hetchy’s claims are preempted under federal law.”
Who oversees the Hetch Hetchy system?
Steve Ritchie, a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) water manager who oversees the Hetch Hetchy system, says storing the water elsewhere would cost billions of dollars. “The notion that we could restore Hetch Hetchy would be very attractive if it didn’t have any other effects — but it does,” Ritchie said, adding that the water goes to about one third of the people in the Bay Area. “It’s not just San Francisco.”
Is Hetch Hetchy a reasonable reservoir?
In 2015, Restore Hetch Hetchy filed a lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco, seeking a ruling that Hetch Hetchy Reservoir violated California law. “The state constitution says all water use must be ‘reasonable,’” Rosekrans said. “We argued that the reservoir is not reasonable because the value of the restored valley is greater than the cost of changing the water system.” At the time, they put the recreational value of the restoration at up to $8.8 billion and the cost of water system changes at $2 billion, both over 50 years.
What would happen if the Hetch Hetchy dam was removed?
Controversy continues to swirl around the Hetch Hetchy Dam even now. There have been lawsuits over whether San Francisco violated the agreements of the Raker Act. 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. In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned another study that found enormous ‘recreational value’ from removing the dam. They suggest that draining the reservoir and turning Hetch Hetchy Valley into a tourist center similar to Yosemite Valley could be worth up to $178 million per year. Would that be an improvement?
How to get to Hetch Hetchy?
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. 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.
What is the difference between Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley?
For all the similarities between Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley, there is one enormous difference – the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths.
Why is Hetch Hetchy so similar to Yosemite Valley?
Photo: Kim Lawson. Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley are so similar because they were created by the same sequences of geological activity.
How far is the reservoir from the O'Shaughnessy Dam?
At full capacity, the reservoir stretches eight miles (13 km) upstream of the O’Shaughnessy Dam. The water winds between granite features like Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome. The reservoir supplies water for the city of San Francisco, so there is no recreational boating or swimming allowed.
Who opposed the Dam Hetch Hetchy?
Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. As Muir famously protested: “Dam Hetch Hetchy? As well dam for water-tanks the people’s cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.”
Is Hetch Hetchy a federal protected area?
But Hetch Hetchy was a federally protected as part of Yosemite National Park.
What was the controversy surrounding the Hetch Hetchy dam?
While the cost of the Hetch Hetchy project itself generated political controversy, much greater controversy swirled around the disposition of the power generated at the dam. For nearly five years in the mid-1920s, the power issue held the central place in the city’s politics, and the echoes from that struggle still occasionally reverberate through the city’s politics. The federal Raker Act specified that water and power realized from the Hetch Hetchy project could not be sold to private interests for resale. Conflict began when O’Shaughnessy pushed the electrical generating plan to early completion in order to produce revenue to help offset future construction costs. Funds from the initial bond issue were fast diminishing, however, and O'Shaughnessy could not extend the transmission line across the bay and into the city. In February 1923, acting at the prompting of the Labor Council, Supervisor Eugene Schmitz (the former mayor) introduced a resolution favoring municipal ownership of a power distribution system. Lengthy deliberations ensued, but the supervisors unanimously approved the resolution in July. Soon after, O'Shaughnessy outlined four options for implementation: (1) construction of a distribution system to compete with private companies; (2) purchase of the existing systems owned by Pacific Gas and Electric or Great Western Power; (3) sale of power at wholesale rates, an option seemingly foreclosed by the Raker Act; or (4) power distribution through the facilities of a private company. By the fall of 1923, the approach of municipal elections allowed Neylan of the Hearst press to push Rolph and other candidates to demonstrate their commitment to municipal ownership as a precondition to endorsement. In September, the supervisors declared themselves “unalterably and unequivocally opposed” to distribution through a private company, and Rolph created a five-member advisory committee “one hundred percent” favorable to public ownership, headed by former mayor James Phelan. Rolph received the Hearst endorsement and won his fourth election. (49)
What was the Hetch Hetchy Valley?
Phelan, the city engineer, and the Board of Public Works agreed that the Hetch Hetchy valley—a canyon with near-perpendicular granite walls rising 2,500 feet above a fiat meadow floor, located in the Sierra 170 miles east of San Francisco —held important advantages over other sites. Phelan left office before any claims could be made and—indeed—before the decision had become public. City officials decided to keep the Hetch Hetchy decision secret “in order to prevent private parties and corporations, speculatively inclined and more mobile than city authorities ... from forestalling the city's actions.” Acting as a private citizen, Phelan applied for the rights to use Hetch Hetchy as a reservoir in April 1902. The city engineer announced the city's intent in July 1902, and soon after, Phelan transferred his claim to the city. Unfortunately, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior had denied Phelan's claims the month before. (27)
How deep is the Hetch Hetchy Valley?
Before damming, the high granite formations produced a valley with an average depth of 1,800 ft (550 m) and a maximum depth of over 3,000 ft (910 m); the length of the valley was 3 mi (4.8 km) with a width ranging from an eighth to a half of a mile (0.2 to 0.8 km). The valley floor consisted of roughly 1,200 acres (490 ha) of meadows fringed by pine forest, through which meandered the Tuolumne River and numerous tributary streams. Kolana Rock, at 5,772 ft (1,759 m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Hetch Hetchy Dome, at 6,197 ft (1,889 m), lies directly north of it. The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. A broad, low rocky outcrop situated between Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome divided the former meadow in two distinct sections.
Where is Hetch Hetchy?
Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from the United States in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native ...
Why was Hetch Hetchy rebuffed?
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.
Why was Hetch Hetchy only seasonally inhabited?
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.
What river is on the left of Hetch Hetchy Valley?
Hetch Hetchy Valley. Top: Taken in the early 1900s before the O'Shaughnessy Dam was constructed, shows the Hetch Hetchy Valley and the Tuolumne River, looking east. Wapama Falls is on the left, Kolana Rock on the right.
Why is Hetch Hetchy smoother than Yosemite Valley?
Compared with Yosemite Valley, the walls of Hetch Hetchy are smoother and rounder because it was glaciated to a greater extent. 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.
What are the plants that grow in Hetch Hetchy?
Hetch Hetchy is home to a diverse array of plants and animals. Gray pine, incense-cedar, and California black oak grow in abundance. Many examples of red-barked manzanita can be seen along the Hetch Hetchy Road. Spring and early summer bring wildflowers including lupine, wallflower, monkey flower, and buttercup.
How many gallons of water is in the O'Shaughnessy Dam?
The O'Shaughnessy Dam (named for the chief engineer) was completed in 1938. Today, this 117-billion-gallon reservoir supplies pristine drinking water to 2.7 million Bay Area residents and industrial users. It also supplies hydro-electric power generated by two plants downstream. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite.
Is Hetch Hetchy open by car?
There is no access to Hetch Hetchy trailheads/campground by car when road is closed.
Is swimming allowed in Hetch Hetchy reservoir?
Swimming and boating are prohibited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in order to maintain a clean source of drinking water.
Who owns the Hetch Hetchy reservoir?
Owned by the city of San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir provides water to 2.7 million residents and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Where is the Hetch Hetchy reservoir located?
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Water System. Located in the northwest portion of Yosemite National Park, Hetch Hetchy refers to a valley in the Sierra Nevada and a reservoir that supplies water to the San Francisco Bay Area. The valley is drained by the Tuolumne River.
How is Hetch Hetchy water delivered?
The water is delivered by a gravity-based system and aqueduct to the Bay Area. According to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir can store as much as 117 billion gallons for the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which serves San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties.
Why was Hetch Hetchy controversial?
Hetch Hetchy has generated controversy since it was first proposed as a source of water following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Congress had to approve the project because it was located in a national park and it passed the Raker Act in 1913 to do so. John Muir and the Sierra Club unsuccessfully fought the reservoir’s establishment ...
What does "restore Hetch Hetchy" mean?
Restore Hetch Hetchy claimed the phrase had a broad meaning that had been previously applied in an environmental context. San Francisco maintained the phrase only pertained to water that was wasted, and there was no claim that the city wastes water, so it was a moot issue.
Who fought for the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley?
John Muir and the Sierra Club unsuccessfully fought the reservoir’s establishment since it required flooding a scenic mountain valley in a national park. After the reservoir’s construction in the 1920s, various groups have lobbied to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state. San Francisco voters have demonstrated their opposition ...
When was the restore Hetchy appeal rejected?
Restore Hetch Hetchy’s subsequent appeal to the ruling was rejected by an appellate court and the California Supreme Court in 2018.
Getting to Hetch Hetchy
Hetch Hetchy Geology
- Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley are so similar because they were created by the same sequences of geological activity. They were both initially carved by rivers flowing down the Sierra’s relatively gentle western slope. Glaciers followed these low-points, leaving their own marks – in particular carving out the characteristic U-shaped valley with steep sides and wide flo…
The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
- For all the similarities between Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley, there is one enormous difference – the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths. When you’re standing at the shore overlooking what appears to be a lake, picture yourself looking down into a verdant valley filled …
Building The Hetch Hetchy Dam
- But how did the dam get to be here? Could you imagine building a dam inside a national park today? The same features that make Hetch Hetchy Valley so spectacular also make it an ideal location for a dam. The glacially-carved U-shaped valley floor maximizes the amount of water stored in the reservoir. Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the …
The Building of The O’Shaughnessy Dam
- Building the Hetch Hetchy dam in such a remote location was an enormous project. Before they could break ground at the O’Shaughnessy Dam, more infrastructure was required. To get the electricity they would need, they first built a smaller dam at Lake Eleanor. Plus, they needed a way to bring supplies and workers into the mountains. The construction of the Hetch Hetchy Railroa…
Ongoing Controversy About Restoring Hetch Hetchy
- Controversy continues to swirl around the Hetch Hetchy Dam even now. There have been lawsuits over whether San Francisco violated the agreements of the Raker Act. 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 da…
Hiking in Hetch Hetchy
- 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. Wapama and Rancheria Falls Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, you’ll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. Start by hiking across the O’Shaughnessy Dam the…
Traveler’s Tip: Buck Meadows on The Way to Hetch Hetchy
- If you love that insider feeling of discovering an often-overlooked gem, plan a stop at Buck Meadowson your way to or from Hetch Hetchy. Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area you’ll pass right through Buck Meadows on Highway 120. It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. You could miss this small mo…