Owned by San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite
National Park provides water to nearly 3 million people in 29
cities across the San Francisco Bay Area. The water, provided by
snowmelt via the Tuolumne River, does not require filtration.
Stored in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir behind O’Shaughnessy Dam, the
water is delivered by a gravity based system and aqueduct to the
Bay Area.
Hetch Hetchy has generated controversy since it was first
proposed as a source of water following the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake. Congress also had to approve the project because it
was located in a national park. John Muir and the Sierra Club
unsuccessfully fought the reservoir’s establishment since it
required flooding a scenic mountain valley. After its
construction in the 1920s, various groups have lobbied to restore
the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state.
As California’s famous Hetch Hetchy Reservoir celebrates its
100th birthday, the fight to get rid of it is alive and well.
Spreck Rosekrans is with Restore Hetch Hetchy, a group
dedicated to draining the reservoir and restoring it to its
original state. … But like most things, it’s not that
simple. Hetch Hetchy provides around 97 percent of drinking
water to San Francisco. Jenn Bowles is with the Water
Education Foundation, an impartial organization that doesn’t
have an official stance on the issue. She said San Franciscans
are very particular about their water, which is considered
especially pure and soft. … Past efforts to remove the
reservoir have failed, but Rosekrans still has hope. He said he
thinks the undamming of Hetch Hetchy is something he’ll see in
his lifetime.
On May 24, 1923, San Francisco officials sent water thundering
into a valley that Sierra Club founder John Muir described as a
“one of Nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples.”
Thus the controversial Hetch Hetchy reservoir was born – and
100 years later, some environmentalists still cherish the
notion of restoring the temple by draining the valley, even as
San Franciscans continue to rely, almost wholly, on its pure,
high-quality water. … Yet at the same time, the opposite
talk has even begun of raising the O’Shaughnessy Dam that
encloses the reservoir, so the valley can hold even more water.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and a gaggle of water
officials gathered in the northwest corner of Yosemite National
Park on Tuesday to celebrate the centennial of the creation of
the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the O’Shaughnessy Dam. … The
water system, San Francisco’s main water source, provided a
stable supply of pristine Sierra Nevada snowmelt for city
residents through most of the 20th century. But as human-caused
climate change worsens, some water experts say the stability of
San Francisco’s mountain tap is losing its surety for the 21st
century and beyond. “I no longer think it will be a reliable
water system,” said Samuel Sandoval Solis, an expert in water
management at UC Davis. … The water passes over three
faultlines and is used for about 85% of the water needs for 2.7
million people in San Francisco and parts of Santa Clara, San
Mateo and Alameda counties.
Rare photos show the transformation of Hetch Hetchy Valley from
untouched paradise to home of the O’Shaughnessy Dam, which
supplies some of the country’s cleanest water to 2 million
people in San Francisco and beyond.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
Hetch Hetchy – a Sierra Miwok word for a type of wild grass
– is a valley in Yosemite National Park whose river was
dammed to create a water supply for the San Francisco Bay
Area. The O’Shaughnessy Dam on the Tuolumne River forms Hetch Hetchy
Reservoir.
Owned by the city of San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
provides water to 2.7 million residents and businesses in the San
Francisco Bay Area.
