The landscape painter Bierstadt, who brought his German Romantic training to the valley in 1862, gave the world an even larger portrait, and one in extravagant color, that photographers could not match on any scale. . 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. 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. In 2019, Restore Hetch Hetchy commissioned another study that found enormous recreational value from removing the dam. [3] Kolana Rock, at 5,772ft (1,759m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Its a a wonderful place to see spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. (Source: American Rivers, How Dams Damage Rivers). Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. Such new supplies are not guaranteed to have the low greenhouse gas emissions profile that Hetch Hetchy water and power do and they could worsen climate change while increasing our vulnerability to it. DWR also found that the planning studies necessary to refine the costs and benefits of restoration would cost $65 million alone. The entire valley is now flooded under an average 300ft (91m) of water behind the dam, although it occasionally reemerges in droughts, as it did in 1955, 1977, and 1991. The Hetch Hetchy Valley is a part of Yosemite National Park. [8], Before damming, the valley floor contained abundant stands of black oaks, live oak, Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and silver fir bordering the meadows, with alder, willow, poplar and dogwood in the riparian zone along the Tuolumne River. 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. All offers, including but not limited to, bonus amenities, upgrades, prices, and group benefits are based on select dates, resorts, room categories, and/or fare codes. "[22], The valley's name may be derived from a Miwok word earlier anglicized as hatchhatchie, which means "edible grasses"[8][23] or "magpie". [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. Within 50 years, vegetative cover would be complete except for exposed rocky areas. [2] These clean and comfortable rooms also enjoy access to the pool, spa and other facilities at Yosemite Westgate Lodge. [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. [12] During the last glacial period, the Tioga Glacier[13] formed from extensive icefields in the upper Tuolumne River watershed; between 110,000 and 10,000 years ago Hetch Hetchy Valley was sculpted into its present shape by repeated advance and retreat of the ice, which also removed extensive talus deposits that may have accumulated in the valley since the Sherwin period. Hours: Year-round, but only accessible by car when the Hetch Hetchy Road is open. The Tuolumne River originates in the peaks above Tuolumne Meadows and is the major drainage system for the northern part of Yosemite. Due to extreme winter weather, Yosemite National Park is closed with no estimated date of reopening. The water shunted through them about 218 million gallons a day arrives in most city taps by gravity alone. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. There is a third concept, too, though it was little understood at the time. Youll just need to see them for yourself. [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). Yes, the plan to drain Hetch Hetchy involves causing new ecological damage. A bigger population will increase demand, meanwhile climate change could significantly reduce supply through drought and hydrological cycle changes. (Read SPURs analysis of this plan.) During the late 19th century, the valley was renowned for its natural beauty often compared to that of Yosemite Valley but also targeted for the development of water supply for irrigation and municipal interests. 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. Smith Peak (7,751 feet) is the highest point in the area and offers outstanding views. [24] It is likely that the edible grass was blue dicks. Gravel, logs, and other important food and habitat features can become trapped. The falls roar in spring and early summer. We're not going to remove this dam, and the funding is unnecessary. Most people turn around here anyway. This option favors building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide hundreds of thou- sands of San Francisco residents with water and electricitybasic necessities for health and well-being, as well as urban development and economic growth. 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. 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. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which lies within the Yosemite National Park, supplies 85% of the water needs of San Francisco and surrounding counties. The Hetch Hetchy system's supporters say it has one of the smallest carbon footprints of any water system in the United States because its water is of such high quality that it requires no. Many are vital pieces of infrastructure that provide reliable water supplies, hydropower, flood control, and recreation. He produced at least four oil paintings of the valley one of which is prominently displayed in Mount Holyoke Colleges art museum. Plus, they needed a way to bring supplies and workers into the mountains. He was a firm believer in utilitarian conservation. 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. Congress has set aside the Yosemite Valley as a state park in 1864, established a national park around it in 1890, and then reclaimed the valley as part of the national park in 1903. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the parks natural wonders. A recent report evaluates the economic benefits of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. The reservoir provides water to a large portion of the Bay Area through a 160 mile delivery. 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. A large part of today's incentive for restoration is that when the dam and the Hetch Hetchy reservoir were authorized by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, as the Raker Act, the Hetch Hetchy Valley . 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. We can't help it either. Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". [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. It's dumb, dumb, dumb. Dams, including this one, dont last forever, and perhaps in a few generations the conversation about a different future for the Hetch Hetchy Valley may be worthwhile. Photo: Kim Lawson. 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. The law authorizing the dam passed Congress on December 7, 1913. This effort was famously and vociferously fought by John Muir and was the subject of a national debate for years; the loss later galvanized the Sierra Club to successfully oppose large dams in Dinosaur National Monument and Grand Canyon National Park. Through the manipulation of water, the company also had the power to determine which real estate became valuable and which languished. . In the northwest corner of Yosemite National Park you can find the Hetch Hetchy Valley. 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. 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. Hydroelectric power generated from the Hetch Hetchy project is largely sold to Bay Area customers through a private power company, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E). 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. Let us introduce you to some of the unique giant sequoia groves in the Yosemite Mariposa County area the Merced, Tuolumne, and Mariposa Groves are inside Yosemite National Park, and the Nelder Grove is just outside the park boundary to the south. [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. The chief replied, There is no valley. Could you imagine building a dam inside a national park today? That reservoir is New Don Pedro, and it rests over existing pipelines to the Bay Area. As well dam for water tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.'. 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. The second concept is preservation. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. Wapama Fall is reached via a five-mile, round-trip hike that follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. [21] Miwok names are still used for features, including Tueeulala Fall, Wapama Fall, and Kolana Rock. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . 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. So visit Hetch Hetchy. 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. The watershed is also strictly protected, so swimming and boating are prohibited at the reservoir (although fishing is permitted at the reservoir and in the rivers which feed it),[60] a measure which is considered unusual for US lakes outside the region. 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. After 2.5 miles (4.0 km), youll reach the Wapama Falls Bridge with an up-close view of the lowest section of Wapama Falls. 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. [28][29] About 1853, his brother, Joseph Screech (credited in some accounts for the original discovery of the valley)[27] blazed the first trail from Big Oak Flat, a mining camp near present-day Lake Don Pedro,[30] for 38mi (61km) northeast to Hetch Hetchy Valley. While John Muir led the fight against building the dam, the opposition was supported by Gifford Pinchot. Hetch Hetchy, unlike other water storage facilities in California, is relatively buffered from near-term climate change because of its high elevation. But if you still have energy, continue past the bridge to Rancheria Falls.