Journal of the american water resources association jawra 422. Many hiking trails begin from oshaughnessy dam and some of hetch hetchys most beautiful features are easily seen from the top of the dam. Yosemite national parks hetch hetchy valley was carved by glaciers. Oshaughnessy dam, completed in 1923, holds back 340,000 acre feet of water on the tuolumne river to form hetch hetchy reservoir. There are at least a few million good reasons why san francisco needs to fix the aging and fragile hetch hetchy water system within the next decade, but the most compelling one is a simple number. It is both a wellargued history and a beautifullywritten testimony of. The real questions are what will be done with the dam materials once the dam is destroyed, and are environmental benefits attainable. After hetch hetchy, many realized the national parks needed more protection. Hetch hetchy valley, by john muir, boston weekly transcript, march 25, 1873. Once again, hetchhetchy was on the tongues of the american people. Hetch hetchy quotes rausser college of natural resources.
Oldest native american basket found in hetch hetchy valley and central california paiute indian burden basket. The 38mile drive from the valley can be covered easily in 2 hours. Construction of the dam started in 1938 and ended in 1945. After a hike, a microbrew might hit the spot, so drive nine miles from the trail to evergreen lodge. Hetch hetchy reservoir is accessed from sr 120, just w. Excellent summary of the hetch hetchy battle of 190119 and what it means today. But in the late 19th century, preserving public land in its natural state was a new and provocative idea. The society for the preservation of national parks submitted this petition to congress in order to urge them to defeat the raker bill, a bill to grant san francisco the right to dam the hetch hetchy valley.
The glacial hetch hetchy valley lies in the northwestern part of yosemite national park and is drained by the tuolumne river. Located at 3,900 feet, hetch hetchy boasts one of the longest hiking seasons in the park and is an ideal place for thundering spring waterfalls and wildflower displays. At the hetch hetchy reservoir, you can walk across the dam and learn more about areas history from the interpretive signs. Secondly, when you drive into hetch hetchy, your license plate number will be recorded for national security purposes, being that the dam is a potential post911 terrorist target. An environmental artist with the skills of a mountain climber painted a giant crack down the face of hetch hetchy reservoir dam, park officials said monday. Its 602 feet high, 883 feet thick at the bottom, 30 feet thick at the top, and 3,460 feet long. The building of oshaughnessy dam hetch hetchy reservoir provides water for 2. Instead of seeing the majestic backdrop of the sierra nevada reflected in the pristine mountain water, they are now greeted by millions of black balls that cover the surface. Hetch hetchy reservoir and oshaughnessy dam youtube. Restore hetch hetchy, as its name suggests, aims to return that valley to its natural state by demolishing the dam and releasing the billions of gallons of water that lie behind it. The group restore hetch hetchy, the sierra club and other supporters of draining the reservoir say most of its 360,000 acrefeet of water storage can be replaced through more water conservation. The visual effect suggested that the dam had cracked.
Once again, hetch hetchy was on the tongues of the american people. The ghosts of hetchhetchy by gene rose damming hetch hetchy by john muir, unpublished journal entry, c. This nation can afford to pay millions to prevent this desecration as far as economy and dollars and cents are concerned. Captured in old photographs and paintings, hetch hetchy valley was a scenic landscape that rivaled nearby yosemite valley before congress approved construction of oshaughnessy dam in 19. The building of the oshaughnessy dam and hetch hetchy reservoir in the middle of yosemite national parkdespite the availability of less expensive, less technically challenging, and less politically complicated possibilitiesset off a defining controversy in american environmentalism. A paved road leads 7 miles from mather to the 312foot dam, which impounds san franciscos water supply. Harrison ford tells the unfortunate story of hetch hetchys flooding and the campaign to return the valley to yosemite and the american people.
Why hetch hetchy is staying under water under water. Techniques also exist to remove the material once the dam has been destroyed. The first phase of construction on the oshaughnessy dam named for the chief engineer was completed in 1923 and the final phase, raising the height of the dam, was completed in 1938. Rick lehman, whose district then embraced hetch hetchy, steered legislation through congress prohibiting the construction of any more dams in yosemite or other national parks. The 2005 restore hetch hetchy study proposes the construction of a temporary cofferdam deeper inside yosemite park to provide water while oshaughnessy dam is dismantled. After four years of recordsetting drought and statewide low reservoir levels. Its hard to imagine the united states of america without our national parks. The hetch hetchy valley is of infinitely greater economic importance to the nation and the state of california, with its parklike floor, intact and available for campers, than it will be as a reservoir site. Photo by herbert gleason, courtesy restore hetch hetchy. As well dam for watertanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.
Restore hetch hetchy is committed to undoing the damage, and to returning hetch hetchy to yosemite national park and for the american people. You can walk on several trails, ranging from two to miles long. At a private luncheon in yosemite during the 1990s, sierra club director david brower challenged bruce babbitt, president bill clintons secretary of the interior, to pursue restoration. Water managers drop the ball on hetch hetchy california. And, youll be handed a brochure produced by the san francisco public utilities commission espousing the breathtaking utility of hetch hetchy reservoir and its dam. 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. Due to many concerns regarding the supply of water for the city of san francisco not the least of which were shortages during the great quake of 1906, plans were drawn up to build a dam and turn the hetch hetchy watershed into a reservoir in the rugged sierra nevada mountains of yosemite national park. Hidden in yosemite national parks peaceful northwest corner, hetch hetchy valley is a treasure worth visiting in all seasons.
A map and guide to hetch hetchy reservoir at yosemite. The morning of november 6, 2012, dawned with high hopes among the band of preservationists hoping to restore the. It was really a work of artit wasnt just graffiti, said dean coffey, general manager with the hetch hetchy water and power district, which provides water to san francisco and. How did the hetch hetchy project impact native americans. Though muirwhose impassioned writings drove congress to make yosemite a national park in 1890died of pneumonia on christmas eve in 1914, it was the creation of a reservoir at hetch hetchy. Today the 117billiongallon reservoir supplies pristine drinking water to 2.
S forest service to control the parks, but after his support to dam hetchy hetchy, congress voted in 1916 to to establish the national park service whose sole purpose was to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to. Because of its lower elevation, hetch hetchy has the parks longest hiking season in the area. On june 25 19 the house committee on the public lands opened hearings on the hetch hetchy issue, with gifford pinchot as the star. The physical dimensions of the oshaughnessy dam are. Hetch hetchy is the name of a valley, a reservoir and a water system in california in the united states. Hetch hetchy and a century of environmentalism sierra club. I believe that the greatest threat to the survival of american indians more than the wars, the disease, the poverty, the discrimination, and the european occupation is the removal of the spiritual matrix of traditional life, the theft of the sacred. We also want to be included in the story of hetch hetchy, our beautiful valley. Hetch hetchy politicspreservationist, provincial, personal, and perhaps postpartisanin the 2000s by rick heide author, editor. Hetch hetchy valley, before the dam native history part. Oshaughnessy dam is a 430foot 1 m high concrete archgravity dam in tuolumne county, california, in the united states. How san franciscos clean drinking water destroyed the 2nd. The hetch hetchy project was a major contributor to the history of tuolumne county affecting its natural environment and economic development.
With towering cliffs and cascading waterfalls, it was one of the most compelling landscapes on earth. History of the valley hetch hetchy was once a resplendent glacier carved valley, with towering cliffs and waterfalls cascading onto a serene valley floor. Hetch hetchy environmental debates national archives. Were talking about shasta dam which, is a perfect example of californias gold.
Rick lehman, whose district then embraced hetchhetchy, steered legislation through congress prohibiting the construction of any more dams in yosemite or other national parks. A cluster of ramshackle cabins built for the hetch hetchy dam workers in 1920, it is now a woodsychic cottage resort with a tavern, restaurant, and saltwater swimming pool. As well dam for watertanks the peoples cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of. Led by john muir, the society believed that natural wonders should remain unspoiled. An acre foot is 325,000 gallons, or the amount of water an average suburban family uses in one year, a water department official said.
The hetch hetchy project was created to find and deliver drinking water to san francisco and the bay area. The plan calls for oshaughnessys 900,000 tons of concrete to be stored at camp mather, near the reservoir, until a permanent disposal site is located. But in 19, congress allowed san francisco to clearcut, dam and flood hetch hetchy valley. San francisco was the big winner in the damming of hetch hetchy valley which provides a pristine water source and generates electricity for the city. The dam and reservoir are the source for the hetch hetchy. The hetch hetchy reservoir, while providing water to millions of people in the san francisco bay area, also provides visitors with access to spectacular beauty and the wilderness of yosemite national park.
Frobish visitors to yosemites iconic hetch hetchy reservoir are doing a doubletake. 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. The project construction spanned twentyfive years from 19 to 1938. Head to hetch hetchy for a new perspective of yosemite. Hetch hetchy junction to the oshaughnessy dam, ca home ca hhrr. Lawsuit to drain hetch hetchy reservoir goes back to court. Dam water, power, politics, and preservation in hetch. Water supply implications of removing oshaughnessy dam. The san francisco public utilities commission owns and operates hetch hetchy power, which represents some of the cleanest energy available in california. Pioneer conservationist john muir called it a remarkably exact counterpart to the now worldfamous yosemite valley 15 miles to its south.
Spend the night so you can roast smores under the stars at the. The mission of restore hetch hetchy is to restore the hetch hetchy valley in yosemite national park to its natural splendor while continuing to meet the water and power needs of all communities that depend on the tuolumne river. Petition from the society for the preservation of national. For over 100 years this systemwhich utilizes the gravity flow of the citys water from source to taphas operated without producing any carbon emissions nor any radioactive byproducts. Despite muirs appeal to president roosevelt to save hetch hetchy, pinchots view eventually prevailed. Hetch hetchy water and power system tuolumne county.