benefits of hetch hetchy dam

California O Shaughnessy Dam Analysis 1428 Words | 6 Pages. DWRs meta-study found a range of costs from $3 billion to $10 billion for restoration and replacement of water and power sources. 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. 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). The other route begins at the entrance station and is 16 miles round-trip with 3,300 feet of elevation gain. Those who did visit it were enchanted by its scenery, but encountered difficulties with the primitive conditions and, in summertime, swarms of mosquitoes. 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. Get SPUR news and events delivered straight to your email inbox. If the nation set aside some natural places as especially sacred, how far beyond their borders should a sense of the sacred extend? 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. The Hetch Hetchy watershed, an area located in Yosemite National Park, is the major source of water for all of San Francisco's water needs. "[61][62], The battle over Hetch Hetchy Valley continues today[when?] Controversy continues to swirl around the Hetch Hetchy Dam even now. The larger issues at stake would frame environmental debates for years to come. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. [14] At maximum extent, Tioga Glacier may have been 60mi (97km) long and up to 4,000ft (1,200m) thick, filling Hetch Hetchy Valley to the brim and spilling over the sides, carving out the present rugged plateau country to the north and southwest. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. The OShaughnessy Dam was completed in 1938 and is 430-feet tall. Once again, the political pendulum would swing. The trail includes spectacular views of Tueeulala and Wapama Falls. Animals were principally driven along Joseph Screech's trail from Big Oak Flat to Hetch Hetchy. 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. 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. That's about twice the amount of power lost when Hetch Hetchy will be restored. The trail continues to climb for 1.8 miles (2.8 km) above the trail intersection, but you can turn around any time. 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). The water shunted through them about 218 million gallons a day arrives in most city taps by gravity alone. The exploitation of Californias natural resources continued unabated in the years leading up to Hetch Hetchy. In 1987, President Reagans Secretary of the Interior, Donald Hodel, proposed that Hetch Hetchy be restored. He was a firm believer in utilitarian conservation. Each switchback reveals scenic overlooks of the reservoir and Kolana Rock. [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. Second, dams slow rivers. Indeed, the battle over Hetch Hetchy may have been a little-known contributor to the permanent alignment of American politics it was the tension between Ballinger and Pinchot that set in motion the events that lead to the split mentioned above. The valley provided an escape from the summer heat of the lowlands. [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. National opinion divided between giving San Francisco the right to dam the valley and preserving the valley from development. Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. It has not been demonstrated that Hetch Hetchy is the only available source, but only that it might be the cheapest. Yosemite Westgate Lodge offers newly-remodeled and well-appointed modern accommodation. SPUR wholeheartedly agrees that planning for water quality and reliability is important. Congress, confronted with rising public opposition, refused to act on the measure. Other trails also continue to Lake Vernon. [2], Wapama Falls, at 1,080ft (330m), and Tueeulala Falls, at 840ft (260m) both among the tallest waterfalls in North America are both located in Hetch Hetchy Valley. Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. 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. Assign each group to analyze one or more . There is no Starbucks here no daily parade of tour buses and RVs. benefits of hetch hetchy dam. Instead, it was a more complicated battle which pitted public interests against private interests. There are four fundamental ways in which dams damage rivers. Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. However, the same NPS study also finds that with intensive management, an outcome in which "the entire valley would appear much as it did before construction of the reservoir" is feasible. . The Great Alaskan Land Fraud and the Pinchot-Ballinger Controversy caused both Richard A. Ballinger and Gifford Pinchot to resign and be fired respectively. What part should mountains, rivers, natural meadows or wild creatures play in American life? The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. Environmentalists lost what was the opening battle in a fight to preserve Americas natural wonders. 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. [70] Hodel called for a study of the effect of tearing down the dam. [50] The removal of the dam would be extremely costly, at least $310 billion,[76] and the transport of the demolished material away from the dam site along the narrow, winding Hetch Hetchy Road would be a logistical nightmare with possible environmental impacts. 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. If the dam were not to be built, it would only benefit the small percentage of Americans who actually visited the site and were concerned about the park's pristine condition. And it is the largest single source of water supply for the Bay Area. Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. A national debate ensued between the preservationist and conservationist factions of the young environmental movement. The dam in the Hetch Hetchy valley of Yosemite National Park, first proposed in 1908, was intended to create a reservoir that would provide water and electricity for the burgeoning city of San Francisco. OPTION 3Give control to the local people of Hetch Hetchy Even a short stroll from the car gives a magnificent view of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir from the OShaughnessy Dam. [51][52] The aqueduct delivers an average of 265,000acreft (327,000,000m3) of water each year, or 31,900,000cuft (900,000m3) per day, to residents of San Francisco and San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda Counties. When changes are made there are unintended consequences. The reservoir is fed by the Tuolumne River. She says the water first leaves Hetch Hetchy through the O'Shaughnessy Dam. According to a local legend, Nate spotted a valley to the east that was too far to visit. They would light upon a man's blue shirt and turn it brown, and were voracious as mosquitoes would be. The Tuolumne River continues through Tuolumne Meadows and the associated park developments at an elevation of 8,600 feet. The first Moccasin Powerhouse in Moccasin, California began commercial operation in 1925 followed by the Holm Powerhouse in 1960 (the same month the Early Intake Powerhouse was taken out of service). Park entry (as needed). Hetch Hetchy doesn't require permit, you need just regular National park pass. Gravel, logs, and other important food and habitat features can become trapped. Related. An advantage which Phelan, Pinchot and other supporters of the dam project enjoyed was a divided opposition. The Tuolumne River originates in the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows and is the major drainage system for the northern part of Yosemite. (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.) 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. strongly against restoration. The reservoir provides water to a large portion of the Bay Area through a 160 mile delivery. The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. 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. 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. As a consequence, visitors came to experience it for themselves. Yes, the plan to drain Hetch Hetchy involves causing new ecological damage. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the parks natural wonders. Indeed, Hetch Hetchy today[when?] But Hetch Hetchy, one of nature's perfect . For all the similarities between Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley, there is one enormous difference the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Hetch Hetchy Water and Power also wants to remove the giant bulkhead that seals up the tunnel with 40 nuts and bolts, Ritchie said. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. The falls roar in spring and early summer. [82] Dianne Feinstein opposed this allocation, saying, "I will do all I can to make sure it isn't included in the final bill. Third, dams alter natural habitats and change the ways in which rivers function. ", "San Francisco-Hetch Hetchy Valley Connection", "Hetch Hetchy controversy: Could Yosemite's 'second valley' be restored? Everyone who drinks water or takes a shower in San Francisco should go. [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. Muir concludes his treatise on Hetch Hetchy with the now familiar words, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! Photo: Chris Migeon [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. Following a fierce nationwide debate led by John Muir and Will Colby of the Sierra Club, the City of San Francisco was authorized by the U.S. Congress, in the Raker Act of 1913, to construct a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. If you delight in getting off the well-beaten path, or if you are looking for a peaceful natural retreat, its perfection. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. That trip is a 19.1-mile (22.9 km) out and back, or you can turn the hike into a loop that returns past Rancheria Falls (28.2 miles, 45.4 km). 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. Over the next decade, he produced fifteen large oils that transformed the valley into a dreamland unlike anything that ever met mortal eye.. 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. Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. There is a third concept, too, though it was little understood at the time. The first is utilitarian conservation. Impounded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water passes through hydroelectric powerhouses before it enters the San Joaquin Pipelines, the Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, and the Coast Range Tunnel on its journey to the Bay Area. [45], The controversy over Hetch Hetchy was in the context of other political scandals and controversies, especially prevalent in the Taft administration. 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 . That reservoir is New Don Pedro, and it rests over existing pipelines to the Bay Area. [31], During this time, the upper Tuolumne River, including Hetch Hetchy Valley, was visited by prospectors attracted by the California Gold Rush. 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. Copyright © 2023 More Than Just Parks | This post may contain affiliate links - read our Standards, Corrections, & Privacy Policy. 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. [citation needed], The Hetch Hetchy Valley began as a V-shaped river canyon cut out by the ancestral Tuolumne River. 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. Second, the sanctity of the national parks which they believed should not be violated. In contrast to the utilitarian view, the preservationist approach denied the assumption that the natural world existed solely to serve mans purposes. I will agree to take down Hetch Hetchy, when we first replace it with a bigger new reservoir such as a bigger taller Yosemite Valley dam at El Capitan. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is interesting from an ideological perspective. Residents drink it in 26 cities and water districts from San. It pitted a powerful city against a dedicated group of conservationists. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir also serves to provide energy in the form of hydroelectricity, with a capacity of over 200 megawatts a year. And, as you might imagine, it produces some of the cleanest municipal water in the United States. Learn what to expect from Mirror Lake in various seasons. Instead, the magnificence of a valley often described as Yosemite Valleys slightly smaller twin takes center stage. . 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. Would that be an improvement? Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. As a result, San Francisco secured a reliable and . We would be trading flooded acres in one place for flooded acres in another. Then, in 1906, a devastating earthquake caused a series of fires in San Francisco that destroyed 25,000 buildings across 490 city blocks. On returning home, he asked an Indian chief the name of the valley. The Hetch Hetchy Valley was within Yosemite National Park and protected by the federal government, leaving it up to Congress to decide the valley's fate. The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. [72] The water storage provided at Hetch Hetchy could be transferred into Lake Don Pedro lower on the Tuolumne River by raising the New Don Pedro Dam 30ft (9.1m). This is a place considered by John Muir to be equal in beauty to Yose. The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. Rounding the corner and catching the first glimpses of Hetch Hetchy Valley reveals the play of light on water. The U.S. Congress passed and President Woodrow Wilson signed the Raker Act in 1913, which permitted the flooding of the valley under the conditions that power and water derived from the river could only be used for public interests. John Muir once described Hetch Hetchy Valley as, a grand landscape garden, one of Natures rarest and most precious mountain temples.. As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.. [3] Kolana Rock, at 5,772ft (1,759m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. He had journeyed to Washington to lobby the federal government on behalf of the project. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. 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). can you smoke on royal caribbean cruise ships benefits of hetch hetchy dam. remains the least visited area of the park. In continuance, water has a personality and the presence of it can change moods and help people feel better. [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. [46], Work on the Hetch Hetchy Project began in 1914. Ultimately, San Francisco sold hydropower from the dam to the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which led to decades of legal wrangling and controversy over terms in the Raker Act. For your last day, enjoy a short hike on the shores of the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Apply Today! 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. While opponents of the dam were hard pressed for financial support, the city of San Franciscos campaign was well financed. Her poetic descriptions of Hetch hetchy won her the attention of powerful members of Congress. Hetch Hetchy water travels 160 miles via gravity from . The main problem with the measure is that in spite of appearing to be about studying best options or planning for future water supplies, it has pre-determined the solution: draining Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. . 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. Rancheria Falls itself is a series of whitewater cascades that crashes through a narrow canyon on its way to the reservoir. 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. 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.. These clean and comfortable rooms also enjoy access to the pool, spa and other facilities at Yosemite Westgate Lodge. A full breakfast is served in the dining room. Located 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas, the dam captures water from the .

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