Once the glaciers retreated, tributaries leading into the main river were left hanging hundreds or thousands of feet above the valley floor, creating the beautiful waterfalls we know today. SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105-4015 | (415) 781-8726 | [emailprotected], 2023 SPUR Privacy Policy 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Tax Identification: 94-1498232, a member-supported nonprofit organization. It was the second tallest dam in the U.S. at the time. 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 walls of both are of gray granite, rise abruptly out of the flowery grass and groves are sculptured in the same style, and in both every rock is a glacial monument., (Source: Journal of Sierra Nevada History & Biography, Hetch-Hetchy, Natural History Before The Dam, Joe Medeiros), In defense of Hetch Hetchy, Muir crafted some of his most famous prose. In the sum of American economic expansion the intrusion might have seemed a minor, obscure matter, but to [John] Muir immense issues were involved: why had the nation preserved that pure wildness in the first place? . As a consequence, visitors came to experience it for themselves. 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 OShaughnessy Dam was completed in 1938 and is 430-feet tall. [40] By the 1880s, San Francisco was looking to Hetch Hetchy water as a fix for its outdated and unreliable water system. Standing upon it will give you the chance to appreciate the sublimity of both nature and human achievement. Your email address will not be published. Browers Hetch Hetchy: Undoing A Great American Mistake, makes a compelling case for restoring the valley to its previous glory. To visit the waterfalls or Yosemites northern backcountry, you walk across OShaughnessy Dam. "[81] Hodel, now retired, is still[when?] San Francisco applied to the United States Department of the Interior to gain water rights to Hetch Hetchy, and in 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior, James R. Garfield, granted San Francisco the rights to development of the Tuolumne River. Monroe was a Chicago poet who joined Muir and others on their 1908 and 1909 outings to the valley. Next to John Muir, the most vocal defender of the Hetch Hetchy Valley was Harriet Monroe. Camping included, if needed; limited sites are shared among all the . Over the next decade, he produced fifteen large oils that transformed the valley into a dreamland unlike anything that ever met mortal eye.. In: Educational Resources, History, National Parks, Your email address will not be published. In terms of quality, Hetch Hetchy water is so pristine that it is one of only a handful of water supplies in the country that doesnt need to be filtered, a process that is expensive and energy intensive. 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.. [4] A broad, low rocky outcrop situated between Kolana Rock and Hetch Hetchy Dome divided the former meadow in two distinct sections. The trail continues to climb for 1.8 miles (2.8 km) above the trail intersection, but you can turn around any time. Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. Controversy continues to swirl around the Hetch Hetchy Dam even now. A national debate ensued between the preservationist and conservationist factions of the young environmental movement. Said San Francisco resident William Denman in 1918, "The first time I went into the Hetch Hetchy the mosquitoes were intolerable. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. The trail includes spectacular views of Tueeulala and Wapama Falls. Specialty pricing may require . [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. For your last day, enjoy a short hike on the shores of the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. [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. Photo: Chris Migeon. [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. Hetch Hetchy Valley was once home to a richly diverse ecosystem, surrounded by towering cliffs and waterfalls similar to those in neighboring Yosemite Valley. 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). 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. It forced elected representatives to consider what a national park designation truly meant and whether or not the land within these parks deserved protection. One route begins six miles beyond the entrance station. 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. 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). The SFPUC tests its quality more than 100,000 times a year to ensure that it exceeds all safe drinking water standards. Hetch Hetchy water serves residents in four Bay Area counties, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Southern Alameda. 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. If, on the other hand, San Francisco gained control, it would signal in important victory for public power resulting in lower rates for the people. Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. Second, the sanctity of the national parks which they believed should not be violated. [54] The entire system produces about 1.7 billion kilowatt hours per year, enough to meet 20% of San Francisco's electricity needs. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. Wapama and Rancheria Falls Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. Muir concludes his treatise on Hetch Hetchy with the now familiar words, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! They were both initially carved by rivers flowing down the Sierras relatively gentle western slope. The dam and reservoir are the source for the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct, which provides water for over . This is a place considered by John Muir to be equal in beauty to Yose. A full breakfast is served in the dining room. Construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam began in 1919 and was finished in 1923, with the reservoir first filling in May of that year. [15] When the glacier retreated for the final time, sediment-laden meltwater deposited thick layers of silt, forming the flat alluvial floodplain of the valley floor. [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. Wapama Fall is reached via a five-mile, round-trip hike that follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. 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. Plus, the granite walls converge into a narrow outlet at the bottom of the valley the perfect location for a dam. Show More. Once again, the political pendulum would swing. Miners did not stay in the area for long, however, as richer deposits occurred further south along the Merced River and in the Big Oak Flat area. It is definitely worth to visit Hetch Hetchy area especially in 2021 when main Yosemite area requires booking permits in advance. The falls roar in spring and early summer. They would light upon a man's blue shirt and turn it brown, and were voracious as mosquitoes would be. 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. There is a third concept, too, though it was little understood at the time. . The second concept is preservation. 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). Yet environmentalists have dreamed of restoring the dramatic valley along the Tuolumne River, which was filled in by the lake when the dam was built in 1938 under the New Deal. The Tuolumne River continues through Tuolumne Meadows and the associated park developments at an elevation of 8,600 feet. The idea of punching a hole in or removing the dam and allowing the valley to be restored to its pre-development conditions has been around since the late 1980s. Building a dam there was off the table. Teams completed the OShaughnessy Dam in 1923 and the reservoir filled for the first time in May of that year. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. . "[22], The valley's name may be derived from a Miwok word earlier anglicized as hatchhatchie, which means "edible grasses"[8][23] or "magpie". Now San Francisco wanted to dam one of the two principal watersheds in the park, the Hetch Hetchy valley through which ran the Tuolumne River, to create a reservoir for its water supply. Even if we could obtain the several billion dollars necessary to carry out this endeavor (neither private nor public sources have yet been identified) some of the tasks involved may not even be possible. Related. For thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from the United States in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native Americans who practiced subsistence hunting-gathering. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. 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" Hetch Hetchy is the incredible story of Americas most controversial dam and the birth of the environmental movement. 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. But during peak spring flow, the thundering waterfall can wash over the bridge making it dangerous to cross. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the parks natural wonders. The new. In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies on the annual snowmelt to stay full. He was a firm believer in utilitarian conservation. . The surface of the water hides an additional 300 feet of granite cliffs and once-upon-a-time waterfalls within its depths. 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. "[65] Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior in the late 1930s, said there was a violation of the Raker Act, but he and the city reached an agreement in 1945. It carried workers and materials for the dam, as well as tourists, postage and other amenities. A) 5 billion B . [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. 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. [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. People have died after being swept off the bridge and onto the rocks below. Since the valley was within Yosemite National Park, an act of Congress was needed to authorize the project. The deciding factor was whether or not the land in question had access to water. 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. [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. The imputed motive was to divide the environmental movement: to see residents of the strongly Democratic city of San Francisco coming out against an environmental issue. Copyright © 2023 More Than Just Parks | This post may contain affiliate links - read our Standards, Corrections, & Privacy Policy. There is plenty to see and do right here, from kayaking on the water to climbing the magnificent domes above. 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. Eighty-five percent of the water comes from Sierra Nevada snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir situated on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. In continuance, water has a personality and the presence of it can change moods and help people feel better. Also convince them it would be a good idea to raise the heights of their dams so we can enlarge these reservoirs with our extra water, flooding anew many miles of the Tuolumne River and acres of currently dry land. These are called Bay Division Pipelines (BDPL) 1, 2, 3, and 4, with nominal pipeline diameters of 60, 66, 78, and 96 inches (1.5, 1.7, 2.0 and 2.4m, respectively). Stand on OShaughnessy Dam and feel the cool updraft. 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. [18], Due to its abundant wetlands and stream pools, Hetch Hetchy was notorious among early travelers for becoming infested with mosquitoes in the summertime. By Posted student houses falmouth 2021 In jw marriott panama concierge lounge 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. The battle over the Hetch Hetchy, in part, was a fight over public versus private ownership of vital resources such as water. Third, dams alter natural habitats and change the ways in which rivers function. [61] In 2018, the Department of the Interior of the Trump administration began to consider a proposal to allow limited boating on the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for the first time, supported by the advocacy group Restore Hetch Hetchy which argued that "San Francisco received [Hetch Hetchy's] benefits long ago, but the American people have not. . By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. Like Muir, she felt the beauty of the valley was a national treasure which ought to be preserved. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. Albert Bierstadt was known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West. Apply Today! But Hetch Hetchy, one of nature's perfect . Photo: Chris Migeon Have all students read the debate overview and page one of the HR 7207, the "Raker Bill". 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. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. Surrounding the water are a few waterfalls, the most prominent being Tueeulala and Wapama Falls, and countless rock features. San Francisco was able to accomplish this in 1925 by claiming it had run out of funds to extend the Hetch Hetchy transmission line all the way to the city. 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. Muir observed:[3]. From this work, we have concluded that it is not wise to reduce water storage facilities considering the realities of a growing population and climate change. As well dam for water-tanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.. Application Opening: February 10, 2023 Application Filing Deadline: March 3, 2023 Hourly Compensation: $27.3125 Recruitment ID: RTF0131751-01138303 (131752) APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Exempt: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. Get SPUR news and events delivered straight to your email inbox. 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. Pinchot was Americas Forester. He served as the first head of the United States Forest Service. Secretary of the Interior, Ethan Allen Hitchcock, refused to give San Francisco a permit to build the dam. The gently rolling terrain has excellent views of the water and eye-catching Kolana Rock, which towers roughly 2,000 feet above. In 1987, President Reagans Secretary of the Interior, Donald Hodel, proposed that Hetch Hetchy be restored. Sign up for the email list and join an active community of monthly readers. As the Hetch Hetchy Valley was part of Yosemite National Park, Hitchcock preferred to protect the park's natural wonders. "[19], People have lived in Hetch Hetchy Valley for over 6,000 years. Then it travels through a series of mountain tunnels. The water is transported from the reservoir by the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct which is made up of 170 miles of gravity-driven pipelines, dams, and other reservoirs. The trail to Wapama Falls is one of the most popular trails in the Hetch Hetchy area for a good reason. 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. [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. ", "Three Square Miles of Open Space: Is It Enough? Should nature be left alone so that flora and fauna flourish while people enjoy its primal wonders? [citation needed], The Hetch Hetchy Valley began as a V-shaped river canyon cut out by the ancestral Tuolumne River. The Hetch Hetchy Dam in the Yosemite Valley, receives the bulk of it's water from the sierra snow pack miles above the reservoir. She says the water first leaves Hetch Hetchy through the O'Shaughnessy Dam. [8], While its cousin Yosemite Valley to the south had permanent Miwok settlements,[25] Hetch Hetchy was only seasonally inhabited. An advantage which Phelan, Pinchot and other supporters of the dam project enjoyed was a divided opposition. We're not going to remove this dam, and the funding is unnecessary. Garfield was responding to critics who believed that the federal governments primary responsibility was to use the nations public resources for development in the service for the greatest number of people. You could miss this small mountain community if you blink at the wrong time, but it is home to a few remarkable small businesses. In some cases, however, including the Klamath and Hetch Hetchy, the benefits of restoration clearly outweigh the benefits provided by the dams. [50] The project is operated by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Proponents of the dam replied that out of multiple sites considered by San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy had the "perfect architecture for a reservoir",[43] with pristine water, lack of development or private property, a steep-sided and flat-floored profile that would maximize the amount of water stored, and a narrow outlet ideal for placement of a dam. Most importantly, San Francisco would lose its source of high-quality mountain water, and would have to depend on lower-quality water from other reservoirs which would require costly filtration and re-engineering of the aqueduct system to meet its needs. Dam the Hetch Hetchy! Like Muir, he was totally transfixed by the Hetch Hetchy Valley. 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 . Swimming and boating are prohibited in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in order to maintain a clean source of drinking water. Had it been, the Sierra Clubs members would have presented a united front in opposition to its development. The restoration of Hetch Hetchy would be a simple task compared to some dam removal efforts. Within 50 years, vegetative cover would be complete except for exposed rocky areas. 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. history. Once again, the political pendulum had swung. [42] They claimed the valley was not unique and would be even more beautiful with a lake. "Hetch Hetchy is a grand landscape garden, one of nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples. California Rep. John E. Raker submitted a bill to Congress granting the city of San Francisco the right to dam the Hetchy Hetchy Valley as a reservoir and also provide the city the right of municipalized electricity as well. To begin the trail, cross the dam and pass through the tunnel. Some of these studies determined that the idea of draining the reservoir was technically feasible but incredibly costly. The first is utilitarian conservation. [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. Hetch Hetchy ushered in a new era for the national parks. Second, dams slow rivers. 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.