Some hydro-power dams withhold and then release water to generate power for peak demand periods, which is particularly disruptive to migrating fish. We're not going to remove this dam, and the funding is unnecessary. The OShaughnessy Dam was completed in 1938 and is 430-feet tall. [50] The project is operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Use good judgment and stay safe. [17] The valley's abundant plants provided nourishment for mule deer, black bears and bighorn sheep. 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. As in Yosemite, the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life . In fact, this is so obviously a good idea that the SFPUC and other end users of Hetch Hetchy water have been doing it for years. [8] Rancheria Falls is located farther southeast, on Rancheria Creek. Muir and other defenders of Hetch Hetchy believe the fight revolved around two central issues. 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). Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. Yet it also highlighted the division within the conservation movement over two fundamental principles: utilitarian conservation versus preservation. "[19], People have lived in Hetch Hetchy Valley for over 6,000 years. The water winds between granite features like Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome. The battle for the Hetch Hetchy Valleys future was not simply preservation versus conservation. [64] Peter Byrne of SF Weekly has stated that "the plain language of the Raker Act itself and experts who are familiar with the act (and have no stake in city politics) all agree: The city of San Francisco is not in violation of the Raker Act. 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. "[61][62], The battle over Hetch Hetchy Valley continues today[when?] The O'Shaughnessy Dam is near Yosemite's western boundary, but the long, narrow, fingerlike reservoir stretches eastward for about 8 miles (13 km). The Hetch Hetchy dam would still be as naturally beautiful as it was before when it was preserved, and along with that, the construction of the dam will benefit the greatest number of. RELATED: Meet The Real Life Batman & Robin Of The National Parks. 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. It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. Valley, reservoir, and aqueduct in California, USA, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMatthes1930 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFWohlforth2004 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFWhitney1874 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFGlennon2009 (, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hetch Hetchy, List of dams and reservoirs in California, List of the tallest dams in the United States, "Alternatives for Restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley Following Removal of the Dam and Reservoir", "Hetch Hetchy Reclaimed: Drain it, then what? 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. Yosemite Westgate Lodge offers newly-remodeled and well-appointed modern accommodation. 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 . Like Muir, she felt the beauty of the valley was a national treasure which ought to be preserved. Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam began in 1919 and was finished in 1923, with the reservoir first filling in May of that year. [47] On October 28, 1934 twenty years after the beginning of construction on the Hetch Hetchy project a crowd of 20,000 San Franciscans gathered to celebrate the arrival of the first Hetch Hetchy water in the city. Some of these studies determined that the idea of draining the reservoir was technically feasible but incredibly costly. Standing upon it will give you the chance to appreciate the sublimity of both nature and human achievement. His path roughly follows the John Muir Highway State Highway 132 that runs from Highway 49 in Coulterville up through Greeley Hill before connecting back into Highway 120 before Buck Meadows and the turn-off to Hetch Hetchy. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . OShaughnessy Dam and the waterworks that connect it to the Bay Area are a marvel of engineering. [36] Muir's friend Robert Underwood Johnson of the politically influential Century Magazine and several other prominent figures were inspired by Muir's work and helped to get Yosemite National Park established by October 1, 1890. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. The view in Hetch Hetchy Valley As you know by now, the hike is 90% along the reservoir so you always get to see the most beautiful blue water in all of California. Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area youll pass right through Buck Meadows on Highway 120. Most people turn around here anyway. The dam and reservoir, combined with a series of aqueducts, tunnels, and hydroelectric plants as well as eight other storage dams, comprise a system known as the Hetch Hetchy Project, which provides 80% of the water supply for 2.6 million people. This can lead to algal blooms and decreased oxygen levels. Photo: Chris Migeon. This is a place considered by John Muir to be equal in beauty to Yose. They acknowledge that a concerted effort would have to be made to control the introduction of wildlife and tourism back into the valley in order to prevent destabilization of the ecosystem,[68] and that it might be decades or even centuries before the valley could be returned to natural conditions. Your email address will not be published. Since then, the "Hetch Hetchy System" has continued to grow, now including nine impoundments . 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.. Richard Ballinger was a conservative who was one of the main characters who was responsible for the progressive-conservative split in the GOP in 1912 (leading to the creation of the Bull Moose party), which is the factor that determined the GOP would be on the right side of the political spectrum (and therefore ensuring the Democrats would be on the left side of the spectrum). 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. Hetch Hetchy ushered in a new era for the national parks. Photo: Theresa Ho, Of course, the proposal was immediately opposed by environmentalists including the Sierra Club and John Muir. Have you been to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite? He said, So we come now face to face with the perfectly clean question of what is the best use to which this water that flows out of the Sierras can be put. Dam the Hetch Hetchy! California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. Spring and early summer bring wildflowers including lupine, wallflower, monkey flower, and buttercup. To get the electricity they would need, they first built a smaller dam at Lake Eleanor. The water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is used to supply system customers as well as to generate hydroelectric power; the reservoir is also operated to provide instream flows to benefit fisheries and other wildlife. [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. [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. San Francisco had its eyes on this water source early on and repeatedly tried to acquire water rights to the Tuolumne River. 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. RELATED: A Woman Started The Environmental Movement (Can It Continue?). San Francisco assumed from the outset that there would not be significant opposition to using the Hetch Hetchy Valley, even if it was in a national park, for the high and noble purpose of providing water to one of the nations great and growing metropolises, so their efforts in Washington, DC, were conducted discreetly. The terminus of the incomplete line was "conveniently located next to a PG&E substation", which connected to PG&E's private line which in turn bridged the gap to San Francisco. Photo: Herbert W. Gleason courtesy of the Sierra Club. while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music. Included with your registration: Two-day guided experience in Yosemite; one day at Hetch Hetchy and one day in Ackerson Meadow (Saturday, May 11, at 8 am, through Sunday, May 12, until about 3 pm). Yes, the plan to drain Hetch Hetchy involves causing new ecological damage. Even in the summer when Yosemite Valley is being explored by visitors from around the world, Hetch Hetchy remains an oasis of relative calm. And Hetch Hetchy's damming has inspired generations of conservationists to protect our natural heritage and to commit to safeguarding our protected areas. Muir famously said, Dam Hetch Hetchy! Hetch Hetchy is the incredible story of Americas most controversial dam and the birth of the environmental movement. [13], Hetch Hetchy is home to a diverse array of plants and animals. 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. Monroe was a Chicago poet who joined Muir and others on their 1908 and 1909 outings to the valley. Teams completed the OShaughnessy Dam in 1923 and the reservoir filled for the first time in May of that year. In: Educational Resources, History, National Parks, Your email address will not be published. He discovered it a few of years later. No spam. [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. 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. Enjoy elegant touches like wrap-around porches, and fresh-baked cookies served daily. When changes are made there are unintended consequences. 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. For most of the year the waterfall offers a refreshing shower or cooling mist along with an amazing view. Everyone who drinks water or takes a shower in San Francisco should go. Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. The network goes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, across the Central Valley and out to the coast, and serves 2.5 million Californians in 30 cities across four counties. [39], Interest in using the valley as a water source or reservoir dates back as far as the 1850s, when the Tuolumne Valley Water Company proposed developing water storage there for irrigation. It marks the first catchment in a 160-mile long water system that brings high quality, superb-tasting water to 2.6 million residents of the Bay Area every day. 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. In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned another study that found enormous recreational value from removing the dam. [24] Screech reported that the valley was bitterly disputed between the "Pah Utah Indians" (Paiute) and "Big Creek Indians" (Miwok), and witnessed several fights in which the Paiute appeared to be the dominant tribe. Second, the sanctity of the national parks which they believed should not be violated. Note: you may use the handout or navigate to our feature on the Hetch Hetchy Environmental Debates to access the overview and copy of the Raker Bill. [84] Karin Klein has described Yosemite Valley as "so crammed that it looks more like a ripstop ghetto than the site of a nature experience.