Surrounding the water are a few waterfalls, the most prominent being Tueeulala and Wapama Falls, and countless rock features. Would there be any room in an acquisitive society for wildness, or for non material spiritual values?. 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. Hetch Hetchy Quotes - Rausser College of Natural Resources 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. [citation needed], The Hetch Hetchy Valley began as a V-shaped river canyon cut out by the ancestral Tuolumne River. 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. The exploitation of Californias natural resources continued unabated in the years leading up to Hetch Hetchy. Hetch Hetchy is the incredible story of Americas most controversial dam and the birth of the environmental movement. The battle over the Hetch Hetchy, in part, was a fight over public versus private ownership of vital resources such as water. In the Bay Area, Hetch Hetchy water is stored in local facilities including Calaveras Reservoir, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and San Antonio Reservoir. Winter storms fill Hetch Hetchy, renew debate about reservoir's future Watershed Worker (Summer, 2023) - Hetch Hetchy Water & Power (Moccasin) - SFPUC (7542) Job at City and County of San Francisco in Moccasin. [8] Rancheria Falls is located farther southeast, on Rancheria Creek. Hetch Hetchy - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) Photo: Chris Migeon. 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). Over the next decade, he produced fifteen large oils that transformed the valley into a dreamland unlike anything that ever met mortal eye.. 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. It is 13 miles from the Yosemite National Park border and twice as close to the park than the town of Groveland. Five country-chic rooms in the main building include en suite bathrooms, free WiFi and electric fireplaces. An adjacent building contains another five suites with vaulted ceilings, forest views and soaking tubs. The O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed in 1923 and, after the . But how did the dam get to be here? It is spectacular: a miles-long placid blue lake nested within towering granite cliffs, from which waterfalls cascade. Since then, the "Hetch Hetchy System" has continued to grow, now including nine impoundments . Buck Meadows is also a great place to spend the night. Then it travels through a series of mountain tunnels. In the distance, long white plumes of water cascade hundreds of feet down from rocky heights. 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. It has two trailhead options. As the battle lines were drawn, the different methods employed by each side in presenting their case spoke to some of their basic assumptions about the nature of the issue. [54][55], After passing through the powerhouses, Hetch Hetchy water flows into the 167mi (269km) Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley. Apply Today! Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley are so similar because they were created by the same sequences of geological activity. And in a larger sense, the waters of California served as the converting agents. It also was an early battle of conservatives vs progressives. Above all, one's behavior Argument Against The Hetchy Dam 587 Words | 3 Pages Park entry (as needed). The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. Congress would decide the fate of the Hetchy Hetchy Valley. Get SPUR news and events delivered straight to your email inbox. Fourth, dams alter water quality. The first people, outside of Native Americans, to see the Hetch Hetchy Valley were Joseph, Nate and William Screechin 1850. 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. Hetch Hetchy is an iconic, rare and spectacular landscape, Hetch Hetchy is part of Yosemite National Park and its damming and flooding is by far the worst destruction of our national parks have ever experienced Restoration would not only make Yosemite whole once again it would inspire people that we don't need to live with mistakes of the past" He was opposed by then Mayor Diane Feinstein who argued that the dam was San Franciscans birthright. 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. 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. 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. Two additional reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy RegionLake Eleanor and Lake Lloyd (also No picture of the giant sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park manages to fully capture their immense size and majesty. The Dam flooded about nine miles of the river, including the Hetch Hetchy valley. [21][33] Albert Bierstadt, Charles Dorman Robinson and William Keith were known for their landscapes that drew tourists to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. [13], Hetch Hetchy is home to a diverse array of plants and animals. can you smoke on royal caribbean cruise ships benefits of hetch hetchy dam. The proposed study would also have been required to identify potential replacements for the water storage capacity and hydroelectric power production.[87][88]. Consider one project in progress that involves re-routing an entire river . He had journeyed to Washington to lobby the federal government on behalf of the project. "Dam Hetch Hetchy!": John Muir Contests the Hetch-Hetchy Dam PDF ISSUE GUIDE Hetch Hetchy - theautry.org Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. [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. 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. 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.. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. [45], The controversy over Hetch Hetchy was in the context of other political scandals and controversies, especially prevalent in the Taft administration. An advantage which Phelan, Pinchot and other supporters of the dam project enjoyed was a divided opposition. Within 50 years, vegetative cover would be complete except for exposed rocky areas. She says the water first leaves Hetch Hetchy through the O'Shaughnessy Dam. It is part of our More than Just Parks Environmental Heroes series. The report cited other dam projects in making the argument that this project would increase tourism. 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. [48], The Early Intake (Lower Cherry) Powerhouse began commercial operation five years before the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed. In the foreground, the deep still water of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir reflects sunshine, clouds and the proud shadows of the surrounding mountains. One route begins six miles beyond the entrance station. In its natural state, the valley floor was marshy and often flooded in the spring when snow melt in the high Sierra cascaded down the Tuolumne River and backed up behind the narrow gorge which is now spanned by O'Shaughnessy Dam. [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. Show More. Prominent sponsors of the dam proposal, particularly (by then former) Mayor James Phelan and city engineer Marsdon Manson (and later his successor, Michael OShaughnessy), quietly lobbied key figures in the government, trusting that the appeal of municipal water and power would easily win supporters amid the prevailing progressive political climate. [5] The valley was slowly becoming known for its natural beauty, but it was never a popular tourist destination because of extremely poor access and the location of the famous Yosemite Valley just twenty miles to the south. Plus, they needed a way to bring supplies and workers into the mountains. On December 19, 1913, Congress passed and President Wilson signed the Raker Act which permitted the building of the OShaughnessy Dam and the flooding of the Hetch Hethcy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Bierstadt described the valley as "smaller than the more famous valley but it presents many of the same features in his scenery and is quite as beautiful. At full capacity, the reservoir stretches eight miles (13 km) upstream of the OShaughnessy Dam. [66] In 2015, Restore Hetch Hetchy filed a complaint arguing that the construction of the dam had violated a provision in the constitution of California about water use, but the lawsuit was rejected by an appeals court and later the California State Supreme Court. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. Muir observed:[3]. . The fundamental issue involved two concepts. The Fight for Hetch Hetchy | Environment & Society Portal What Happens When You Remove a Dam? - Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Utilizing its superior resources, the city produced a detailed report which made a compelling case that, far from damaging the beauty of Yosemite, the dam would actually enhance it. No spam. (Source: American Rivers, How Dams Damage Rivers). The question Pinchot always asked was, What is the greatest good for the greatest number?, He was famously quoted as saying, Where conflicting interests must be reconciled, the question shall always be answered from the standpoint of the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run., RELATED: Gifford Pinchot: A 2021 Lesson From Americas First Forester, In his congressional testimony, Pinchot argued in favor of building the dam. The Tuolumne River continues through Tuolumne Meadows and the associated park developments at an elevation of 8,600 feet. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. Before they could break ground at the OShaughnessy Dam, more infrastructure was required. As of 2013, the water storage and hydroelectric power supplied by the Hetch Hetchy Project serviced an estimated 2.6 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The other route begins at the entrance station and is 16 miles round-trip with 3,300 feet of elevation gain. While John Muir led the fight against building the dam, the opposition was supported by Gifford Pinchot. Restore Yosemite? It can be done. - Los Angeles Times Upcountry and the Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Water System San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. Hetch Hetchy Water and Power also wants to remove the giant bulkhead that seals up the tunnel with 40 nuts and bolts, Ritchie said. 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. In: Educational Resources, History, National Parks, Your email address will not be published. Hetch Hetchy: Time to Redeem a Historic Mistake - Sierra Club Within three years, Congress had passed the Organic Act, formally defining the parks and creating a new federal agency, the National Park Service, with a mission: to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations..