| Author | Message | ||
     Sac Bee |
Raising Don Pedro would make up for O'Shaughnessy loss Sacramento Bee A group seeking to restore Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley has its own technical report on how to drain the reservoir for San Francisco that now entombs this valley. The most meaningful message is between the lines. The not-so-subtle suggestion by Restore Hetch Hetchy is a rare political tradeoff: The environmental community would allow Congress to amend the wild and scenic status for a stretch of Tuolumne River so a dam downstream could be enlarged. In exchange, the nation would reclaim Yosemite's second valley, one with extraordinary granite peaks and thunderous waterfalls. That trade is worth pursuing. Restore Hetch Hetchy has suggested raising the big dam downstream, New Don Pedro. Hetchy holds only 360,000 acre-feet of water when full. In comparison, New Don Pedro holds more than 2 million acre-feet of water. The average annual flow of the entire river, the Tuolumne, is about 1.9million acre-feet. San Francisco also owns two other upstream dams, Cherry and Eleanor, that hold about two-thirds of what Hetchy's O'Shaughnessy can hold. There's lots of storage. Restoring Hetch Hetchy, despite some silly claims from the Bay Area, doesn't mean losing this water supply to the sea. It does mean, however, some modest plumbing changes, some major political accommodations and an unknown amount of money that would be necessary. New Don Pedro is owned by the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts. Upstream, the Tuolumne River is protected by the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. That designation normally would prevent raising the dam and backing up water into this stretch of river. By suggesting this raise of New Don Pedro, Restore Hetch Hetchy seems to be putting into play an amendment of the upper river's wild and scenic status as a way to provide ample water supplies and restore the valley. This is no small offer from a group that boasts members who have upstream rapids named for them. At the moment, the prevailing mood in Modesto is to be very wary of draining the Hetchy dam. That is perfectly consistent with Modesto's objection back in 1913 to legislation for building the dam in the first place. Modesto and Turlock prefer to be left alone, as does San Francisco. But a growing state and nation could use that second Yosemite valley. The environmental community offers a peaceful solution that involves a compromise on something very sacred to them, the upper Tuolumne River's wild and scenic status. The Hetch Hetchy restoration movement is quite serious. It deserves serious and nonemotional debate inside Modesto, Turlock and the Bay Area. — The Sacramento Bee, Sept. 25 | ||
| SF wants MORE water |
Mother Lode Water may be tapped Published: October 4, 2005 By MIKE MORRIS The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission wants to eventually take an additional 25 million gallons of water each day from the Tuolumne River so that it can meet future Bay Area water needs. The utilities commission also has plans to add a controversial $500 million, 47-mile pipeline to its existing San Joaquin system, which carries water from the Sierra under the Central Valley to the East Bay. SFPUC's Water System Improvement Program is a $4.3 billion effort to repair, replace and seismically upgrade aging pipelines, tunnels and reservoirs that deliver water to 2.4 million Bay Area customers. The improvements — one of the biggest water infrastructure projects in the western United States — require an environmental impact report, which the San Francisco Planning Department will conduct. Five scoping meetings, designed to get public feedback as to what the Planning Department should consider in the environmental review, will be held throughout the region this month. The first meeting is tomorrow night at the Sonora Opera Hall. At least two local environmental groups plan to voice opposition to SFPUC's plans at the meeting. About 85 percent of SFPUC's water is taken from the Tuolumne River and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The remaining 15 percent comes from Bay Area water sources, such as the Alameda Creek Watershed, said SFPUC spokesman Tony Winnicker. The utilities commission uses about 265 million gallons a day, 225 million of which comes from the Tuolumne River and Hetch Hetchy. By the year 2030, SFPUC plans to increase its daily usage to 300 million gallons. To get the additional 35 million gallons, SFPUC officials asked the Planning Department to look at four options, two of which include taking no additional Tuolumne River water. A third option involves taking the entire 35 million gallons from the river. However, Winnicker said SFPUC's preferred option is taking 25 million gallons a day from the Tuolumne and conserving and recycling 10 million gallons. SFPUC — which sells water to other Bay Area cities like Hayward, Palo Alto and Fremont — has been criticized for not utilizing water recycling. Winnicker said that SFPUC's management has acknowledged that it is "well past time for San Francisco to develop a water recycling system." In its preferred plan, the utilities commission will recycle water in the West Bay. For example, irrigating Golden Gate Park with treated wastewater. If that's successful, then they will devise a long-term plan for the more-developed East Bay. Also part of its multi-billion dollar upgrade, the SFPUC plans to add a fourth pipeline to its existing three San Joaquin Pipelines. Water from the Tuolumne and Hetch Hetchy travels down tunnels to the Oakdale-area where a pipeline system takes it 47 miles under the Central Valley. From there, other tunnels deliver the water to the Bay Area. Winnicker said the fourth pipeline will be used only as a back-up when another pipe needs repairs. Or if an earthquake shatters an old pipeline, Winnicker said, water could be diverted to the new pipe. Heather Dempsey, Bay Area program director for the Tuolumne River Trust, is skeptical of Winnicker's reasoning. "Our analogy is if you build an extra lane on the highway it gets used," she said. "We don't buy the argument that they would need a $500 million pipeline just as a spare. We just see this pipeline as a major threat to the Tuolumne." Dempsey sent postcards to about 800 Sonora-area residents urging them to show up at tomorrow's meeting. The Tuolumne River Trust is based in San Francisco and has offices in Sonora and Modesto. It has about 2,000 members, mostly in Tuolumne County and the Bay Area. "San Francisco's proposed pipeline is damaging and unnecessary," the postcard reads. "Tell San Francisco: No Pipeline! Protect the Tuolumne!" The Tuolumne River's headwaters are in Yosemite National Park. Eighty-three miles of the 162-mile river are designated Wild and Scenic. Ron Good, executive director of Restore Hetch Hetchy, said he plans to bring up two main issues at tomorrow's meeting. Restore Hetch Hetchy is a nonprofit group calling for the removal of O'Shaughnessy Dam, which created Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, and the restoration of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. First, Good said SFPUC has not included a discussion about possibly restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley in its plans. He also doesn't want to see more water taken from the Tuolumne River. "They're taking two-and-a-half times more than they're conserving," Good said. Winnicker said even if Hetch Hetchy is drained, the SFPUC would still have to do the $4.3 billion of improvements. Comments on SFPUC's plans will be accepted through Oct. 24. The draft environmental impact report is due next year, while the water system improvements are expected to continue until 2013. Similar SFPUC meetings this month include one Thursday in Modesto, Oct. 11 in Fremont, Oct. 18 in Palo Alto and Oct. 19 in San Francisco. Contact Mike Morris at mmorris@uniondemocrat.com or 588-4537. Source: http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=18519 | ||
| Uniondomocrat.com |
SF water plan panned at meeting Published: October 6, 2005 By MIKE MORRIS About a fifth of the 100 people gathered last night at the Sonora Opera Hall told San Francisco environmental planners they favor aggressive water conservation in the Bay Area instead of taking more water from the Tuolumne River. Twenty-two people spoke during the two-hour meeting, designed to get public feedback on what planners should consider in the environmental review of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's Water System Improvement Program. The program is a $4.3 billion effort to repair, replace and seismically upgrade aging pipelines, tunnels and reservoirs that deliver water to 2.4 million Bay Area customers. "People in this neck of the woods have been asking the Bay Area to look at other water sources since John Muir," said 32-year Tuolumne County resident Doris Grinn at last night's meeting. A retired U.S. Forest Service hydro technician in watershed management, Grinn said she favors San Francisco storing its storm runoff in reservoirs and using treated wastewater for landscaping and in toilets. San Francisco's planning department will conduct an environmental impact report on SFPUC's project, which calls for possibly taking an additional 35 million gallons a day from the Tuolumne River and adding a controversial fourth pipeline underneath the Central Valley. Monica Weakley, Sierra Nevada program director for the Tuolumne River Trust, is against the $500 million pipeline. "Drop the pipeline," the Groveland woman told planners. "Invest in conservation." She questioned what impact taking more water from the Tuolumne would have on animal habitats, river recreation and water quality. SFPUC officials said the fourth pipeline will be used only as a back-up when another pipe needs repairs or if an earthquake hits. The Tuolumne River Trust, a conservation group based in San Francisco with offices in Sonora and Modesto, handed out neon green "Protect the Tuolumne!" stickers, which many people wore while speaking at the microphone. A draft EIR on the project is due next year, while construction on the water system is expected to continue until 2013. About 85 percent of SFPUC's water is taken from the Tuolumne River and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. The remaining 15 percent comes from Bay Area water sources. The Utilities Commission distributes about 265 million gallons a day, 225 million of which comes from its Sierra watersheds. By 2030, SFPUC plans to increase its daily usage to 300 million gallons. To get the additional 35 million gallons, SFPUC officials asked the Planning Department to look at several options, including getting water from non-Tuolumne River sources, taking all the additional water from the Tuolumne, and making up the difference by conserving and recycling the entire amount. San Francisco has been criticized for not utilizing water recycling. SFPUC spokesman Tony Winnicker said the Utilities Commission's preferred option is taking 25 million gallons a day from the Tuolumne and conserving and recycling 10 million gallons. Winnicker, who was not at last night's meeting, said San Francisco's water rights allow the city to take up to 400 million gallons a day from the Tuolumne River and Hetch Hetchy. Water from the Tuolumne River and Hetch Hetchy travels down tunnels to the Oakdale area, where a pipeline system takes it 47 miles under the Central Valley. From there, other tunnels deliver the water throughout the Bay Area. Members of Restore Hetch Hetchy spoke at last night's meeting about their proposal to drain the reservoir and restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Winnicker said talking about tearing down O'Shaughnessy Dam at a meeting on environmental impacts of SFPUC's water system infrastructure improvements is like "comparing apples and oranges." "It's a forum for them (Restore Hetch Hetchy) to get attention for their proposal," he said. Speakers were allowed to talk for three minutes each. Because there was extra time at the end of the meeting, Grinn and two people from Restore Hetch Hetchy were allowed to speak again. Mark Thornton, who said he spoke at the meeting as an individual, not as District 4 Tuolumne County supervisor, asked planners to extend the scoping period and hold more meetings, including one in Groveland. Last night's scoping meeting was the first of five. Other meetings are scheduled for this evening in Modesto, Oct. 11 in Fremont, Oct. 18 in Palo Alto and Oct. 19 in San Francisco. All meetings are from 7 to 9 p.m., except for Fremont, which is from 6 to 8 p.m. Tonight's Modesto meeting will be held in the Thomas Downey High School cafeteria at 1000 Coffee Road. Contact Mike Morris at mmorris@uniondemocrat.com or 588-4537. http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=18543 | ||
| mark |
If I weren't leaving for Mexico that meetings are scheduled for that evening in San Francisco on the 19th would be a great one to attend. Why couldn't they have it on a Friday Night, like October 21st? I might want to go and, who knows what might happen? For anyone able to go, that San Francisco meeting starts at 7pm to will go at least until 9 p.m. I wonder where it will be held? Diane Feinstein will probably be there. There will be some real grandstanding on this one. I really don't want to miss it. What a room full that will be. Where will it be held? | ||
| mark |
Mayor Newsom will have to have something to say, you know that. And, he's against it, big time. He has to be, doesn't he? If Bruce Babbit came out of the woodwork, in favor for the removal, that would swing Diane over their way. Hate to give them any ideas. But, Diane used to be lockstep behind the Clinton/Gore administration, and Bruce Babbit was king of all he surveyed back then. You have to give it to him, he was a Secretary of Interior that called his own shots. How many out there even remember who our current Secretary of Interior is? Remember Ms. Norton? What a powerhouse she is. Whew. | ||
| Mod Bee |
Restoring Hetch Hetchy can be a win-win for all By RON GOOD Last Updated: October 11, 2005, 05:10:24 AM PDT On Oct. 2, a Modesto Bee editorial asked: "Should Hetch Hetchy Valley be restored?" Restore Hetch Hetchy responds positively, acknowledging that the restoration of Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley should be accomplished with a win-win outcome for all stakeholders: valley communities served by the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts, Bay Area residents, Native Americans and visitors to Yosemite. The Bee editorial acknowledged that "80 years ago, an unconscionable dam inundated an incomparable Yosemite valley." Indeed. If today, San Francisco were to propose to build a dam and reservoir in Yosemite National Park, the American people would simply reject the idea. The Bee editorial raised several important issues: Cost: In our feasibility study (see http://hetchhetchy.org), we estimate the cost of restoring Hetch Hetchy to be about $1 billion, based on published engineering studies and on our own engineering assessments. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has produced no evidence to substantiate its $11 billion figure. Priorities: There will always be difficult choices in tight budgetary times, but the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley presents a unique opportunity to draw funds from three different sources. As restoration would greatly enhance a national park, a generous federal contribution would be appropriate. California's economy would benefit from the resurrection of a second Yosemite valley. Thus, some state funds, possibly derived from a bond measure dealing with multiple water issues, would be justified. Most appealing is the idea of substantial private donations from foundations, corporations and individuals. Every cent of the $500million Statue of Liberty restoration came from private funds. During the deconstruction of the O'Shaughnessy Dam, we estimate that nearly 500 good-paying jobs will be created over five years. A restored Hetch Hetchy Valley will also be of substantial economic benefit to gateway communities in the valley and foothills with increased travel and tourism. Restoration will provide Americans with another haven of rest from the normal cares of our everyday lives. Certainly, levee protection and flood control should be very important budgetary priorities. However, O'Shaughnessy Dam is not a flood-control facility. Since 1970, all flood control responsibilities on the Tuolumne River have been assigned to Don Pedro Reservoir. Population growth and water demand: The highly respected Pacific Institute recently published two reports demonstrating that, even with increased economic activity and population growth during the past 30 years, actual water use in California has decreased. It also predicted similar results in the next 25 years because of successful water recycling and conservation programs. In sharp contrast to this trend, San Francisco has proposed expansion of its system to take more water out of the Tuolumne River, which flows through Modesto -- anywhere from 25 million gallons more per day to 160 million gallons more per day -- despite the fact that it has no meaningful water recycling program. San Francisco's wasteful use of water and its continued storage of water in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley should not be allowed to continue. Increasing the size of Don Pedro Reservoir: In our feasibility study, we explore the option of increasing the size of the Don Pedro Reservoir as one of many alternative ways to offset the loss of storage at Hetch Hetchy. During part of the year, this could result in the flooding of up to 0.7 miles of the 84 miles of the Tuolumne River designated as wild and scenic. On the other hand, the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley would allow for about 8miles of the Tuolumne River to be eligible for inclusion in the national wild and scenic system. Raising the Don Pedro Reservoir could provide important benefits to the people of the valley: increased water storage, increased flood control protection and increased hydropower production. Yosemite National Park represents the very best we have in America. We have the opportunity to make the best even better with the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley. Good is executive director of the group Restore Hetch Hetchy. | ||
| mark |
Citizens: Leave Tuolumne alone Hetch Hetchy water system retrofit plan draws fire for including upgrades to meet future demand By Douglas Fischer, STAFF WRITER FREMONT — The water agency delivering 225 million gallons of Yosemite National Park water daily to the Bay Area faces a fight to get 25 million gallons more per day by 2030. One by one Tuesday night, environmentalists, residents and community activists urged the San Francisco Public Utility Commission to scale back water forecasts and include more conservation and restoration in its $4 billion effort to retrofit and upgrade the aging Hetch Hetchy water system. Charge more for the water, they said. Use less. Get it from the Delta. But just keep it in the river. "I'm concerned," said Fremont resident Justine Burt, testifying with her son, Matthew Cocca. "Why are we not talking about more aggressive water conservation measures instead of diverting a water source? ... If water was priced a little higher, people would treat it more carefully." The Hetch Hetchy system delivers water from its famously pure reservoir in Yosemite National Park to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and southern Alameda counties. The Tuolumne River provides 85 percent of the 265 million gallons of water the agency delivers daily. By 2030 the agency expects it will need 300 million gallons a day to meet demand. Part of that increase — 10 million gallons a day — will come from increased conservation and other sources, such as wells. The rest, the utility says, must come from the Tuolumne. The projections are wrapped up in the agency's massive effort to harden the system against earthquakes. With some key facilities nearly 100 years old, officials fear a major shaker could leave swathes of the Bay Area facing severe water rationing for months. That coupling has some water managers nervous, as objections over increased water draws could delay much-needed retrofits that face no opposition. "We strongly urge the long-overdue" retrofit, said Douglas Chun, manager of water supply and quality for the Alameda County Water District, which supplies Fremont, Newark and Union City and gets 30 percent of its supply from Hetch Hetchy. "The fault is moving." Indeed, it was the prospect -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- of a protracted fight, in part, that pushed General Manager Susan Leal earlier this week to recommend against the retrofit's most controversial item: A fourth pipeline, kept in reserve for emergencies, to carry Tuolumne River water across the Central Valley. That promised a huge fight, with a corresponding price tag. Instead, Leal said the same goals can be met with a more modest 9-mile bypass at a key juncture. A final decision on the matter will come next month, but at a meeting earlier Tuesday, no commissioner objected, said commission spokesman Tony Winnicker. Another concern for environmentalists is a lack of specific environmental restoration projects in the blueprint. For instance, as the utility rebuilds Calaveras Dam on Alameda Creek, advocates with Alameda Creek Alliance want to see a commitment to restore the creek's struggling steelhead and rainbow trout populations. "There's no stewardship component," said Jeff Miller, the alliance's director. "Engineers have a firm hold of the Water System Improvement Plan at this point. We've got to get the biologists involved." Winnicker promised those details will come later, after the current series of public sessions better maps environmental concerns. Commissioners, he added, are well aware of their stewardship responsibilities and have added $250 million to their spending plan specifically for environmental restoration and mitigation. The scoping sessions continue next week, with a public hearing Tuesday in Palo Alto and again on Wednesday in San Francisco. More information is available at http://www.sfwater.org Contact Douglas Fischer at dfischer@angnewspapers.com http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_3108441 | ||
| signonsandiego.com |
Commission scraps plans for a fourth Tuolumne pipeline ASSOCIATED PRESS 2:17 p.m. October 12, 2005 SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission will likely scrap plans for fourth pipeline that would carry water from Yosemite National Park to consumers in the San Francisco Bay area, a spokesman for the commission said. The five-member commission had planned to add another pipeline, but talked Tuesday about instead refurbish the existing ones. Susan Leal, the commission's general manager said the three pipelines can be improved for about $337 million instead of the $986 million it would cost to add a new one. "We expect the commission will adopt the general manager's alternative plan in late November," said Tony Winnicker, the commission's spokesman. The group has to give a 30-day notice to the public before taking any action. The new plan still meets the same goals and costs hundreds of millions of dollars less, he said. The 47-mile pipeline would have run alongside the others across Stanislaus County, moving water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to the Bay Area. Environmental activists were concerned that San Francisco would be tempted to divert more water from the Tuolumne River if the fourth line was built. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20051012-1417-ca-tuolumnepipeline.html | ||
| S.F. Chronicle |
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE Why we must restore Hetch Hetchy - Don Hodel Sunday, November 13, 2005 In 1988, while serving President Ronald Reagan as secretary of the Interior Department, I proposed that we should investigate the possibility of draining Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and restoring the valley to its original state; a smaller but no less glorious sister of the stunning Yosemite Valley. I requested a preliminary study by the Bureau of Reclamation to explore "win-win" restoration options, and the bureau advised me that it appeared that San Francisco's water supply could be protected and perhaps, even, enhanced by various possible options. My modest study proposal was met by an unexpected firestorm of opposition from some people who normally favored environmental responsibility and conservation, most notably then-mayor of San Francisco, Dianne Feinstein. Confronted with an opportunity to review the matter, she made every effort to quash both investigation and discussion, vociferously insisting that Hetch Hetchy was a "birthright" of the people of San Francisco (shades of U.S. Sen. S.I. Hayakawa, R-Calif., saying we stole the Panama Canal "fair and square" and should keep it!) and likening Hetch Hetchy to an expanded campground in a 1987 L.A. Times story. Because the reinvigoration of this idea will undoubtedly open old wounds, I want to emphasize that my intention has always been to develop a plan that would avoid any hardship on the inhabitants of California and, in fact, benefit them. As I stated in an interview in 2003 for the video, "Hetch Hetchy: Yosemite's Lost Valley": "If the question is 'Where do you go from here?', it seems to me it's still necessary to have a study. You need to know what the predictions are as to what will happen. You've got to be able to show San Francisco it won't lose its water; it can get its power replaced. I believe that's what a study will show ... I think that you could fund the removal of Hetch Hetchy dam with a public campaign that wouldn't require any federal money. . . It's like the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. That was done with public funds, not with taxpayers' money. And, it was a great project." In the early 1900s, John Muir, the first president of the Sierra Club, fought the damming of the Tuolumne River, but the recent fires in San Francisco had shown the city's water supply to be woefully inadequate. Desperation drove motivation, and the dam was built, flooding the valley once partly described by Muir in lyrical fashion ending with the words, ". . . there is a counterpart of the El Capitan that rises sheer and plain to a height of 1,800 feet, and over its massive brow flows a stream which makes the most graceful fall I have ever seen." Muir concludes his treatise on Hetch Hetchy with the now familiar words, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man." Emotional words. Feelings run high in such matters. But think: There is no opportunity like this anywhere in the world -- to add another Yosemite Valley to our great National Park System. Let there be a sober consideration of the facts on both sides of this issue. In order to consider the facts, however, the people who want to defend the status quo ought to be required, as proof of their good faith, to permit (even encourage) detailed study of the economic, social and environmental impacts of restoring Hetch Hetchy, or there will be no basis for rational resolution of the issue, and the discussion will devolve into blind emotion and accusation. For those of you inclined to set your face against this opportunity, I urge you to consider the following point: The arguments for restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley are overwhelming. Ultimately, they will prevail. San Francisco may, for a time, withstand the public and federal pressure and continue its unfair use of this part of Yosemite National Park, but sooner or later the hammer will fall. If the hammer falls after a long and acrimonious dispute, with San Francisco dragging its heels every step of the way, the negative public sentiment may be so strong that there will be no willingness to compensate the city for its lost electricity sales revenues and leaving it to pay for its own protection of its water supply. Conversely, if the city were, today, to engage in genuine efforts to find the true costs and burdens of restoring Hetch Hetchy, and these efforts were properly reported to the public, I believe a grateful nation would exert substantial effort to minimize or eliminate the adverse impacts on the city. The campaign could be something simple: "Revamping and enhancing the water system: tens (or even hundreds) of millions of dollars; the cost of replacing the electricity produced from Hetch Hetchy dam: tens of millions of dollars; the restoration efforts to the valley itself: additional millions of dollars; restoring the irreplaceable beauty of Hetch Hetchy Valley to Yosemite National Park: priceless." The amounts here should be incremental costs above what San Francisco is already preparing to spend, but the goal is to study what the costs are and then see where the money could come from: e.g., appropriations and donations. The federal government receives hundreds of millions of dollars for national parks from offshore oil-leasing revenues. No single park proposal has half the appeal of the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley. With the right approach, the National Park Service could be heavily funded to get this done. If a win-win solution is to be found, one that meets the water needs of San Francisco, takes into account power-generation requirements and revenues, as well as the impacts of other options, such as expansion of the New Don Pedro Reservoir, common sense dictates that all sides need to work together to see if there's a way to make it good for everybody. San Francisco has the opportunity to live up to its reputation of high-minded environmentalism by participating wholeheartedly in helping to identify what it will take to keep its citizens whole and at the same time helping to find a way to restore this unique and wonderful valley to one of America's great national parks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learn more Whether to restore Hetch Hetchy will be the subject of a panel discussion Thursday at the Commonwealth Club, with experts from both sides of the debate, including Tom Graff, regional director of Environmental Defense; Don Hodel, former interior secretary; Susan Leal, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; Allen Short, general manager of the Modesto Irrigation District; and Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of Bay Area Council. Although the event is sold out, the discussion will be podcast by The Chronicle later this week. Go to sfgate.com/blogs/podcast [this URL may be incorrect, so go to www.sfgate.com and type in Commonwealth Club, Hetch Hetchy] Don Hodel, in addition to serving as energy secretary (1982-85), was interior secretary during the second Reagan administration (1985-89). He also headed the Bonneville Power Administration from 1972-77. | ||
| SF Chronicle |
Proponents and opponents of breaching O'Shaughnessy Dam to restore the Sierra's Hetch Hetchy Valley engaged in heated debate Thursday in San Francisco, with the discussion settling on a familiar public policy topic -- money. The reservoir and surrounding watershed are controlled by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and slake the thirst of 2.4 million Bay Area residents. But sentiment for removing the dam to bring back the valley's lost natural splendor has been growing since the possibility was first raised in 1988 by Donald Hodel, then the U.S. secretary of the interior. All of the participants at Thursday's debate at the Commonwealth Club of California -- including Hodel, San Francisco PUC General Manager Susan Leal, and environmental and business leaders -- agreed that it would be possible to resurrect the valley from the bottom of the reservoir where it now reposes. But schisms quickly developed over the financial feasibility and social necessity of the project. "Our estimate is that it will cost $10 (billion) to $15 billion," said Leal. Her agency opposes the proposal. Her comment angered Tom Graff, the California director of Environmental Defense, whose group champions the idea. In the past, Leal estimated the costs of restoration at about $9 billion, which includes tearing down the dam and creating alternative water storage and power generation facilities elsewhere. Environmental Defense pegs the price at between $500 million and $1.6 billion to breach the dam and provide other water and power facilities. "There you go again," Graff said to Leal. "If we have this discussion in a couple of months, (the costs) may be up to $20 billion." John Muir compared Hetch Hetchy Valley to Yosemite Valley in grandeur. Located in Yosemite National Park, Hetch Hetchy was flooded after the authorization of O'Shaughnessy Dam on the Tuolumne River in 1913. The prospect of breaching the dam has garnered additional support after feasibility studies from Environmental Defense and UC Davis. Under an order from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Department of Water Resources is preparing a report, expected early next year, on a possible restoration. Hodel said at Thursday's debate, which was sponsored by The Chronicle, that the arguments for restoring the valley will prevail. "The question (then) becomes, 'What does it take to do it?' " Hodel said. "(We) need cost estimates." The final bill for tearing down the dam, restoring the valley and providing alternative water and power to the San Francisco PUC seems to be the crux of the matter. Graff said that his group based its estimates on a detailed study by an engineering firm, and that the PUC's estimates were unsubstantiated. After the panel discussion, Graff said a PUC staffer acknowledged the agency's estimates were based on "back of the envelope" calculations in an Aug. 15 meeting of the commission's Citizens' Advisory Committee, an independent consultative body. Leal said she regretted that she couldn't devote the amount of time to developing estimates that Graff wanted, but she had more pressing issues to address, such as the seismic retrofitting of the water delivery system from Hetch Hetchy reservoir to Bay Area customers. Sacramento Bee associate editor Tom Philp, whose Pulitzer-Prize-winning editorials supported restoration, said financing for such a project could include a state water bond. But even if costs are accurately determined and financing ultimately found, it was clear from the discussion that another obstacle lies in the path of a Hetch Hetchy restoration: the Modesto Irrigation District, which shares ownership of Don Pedro Reservoir with the Turlock Irrigation District. Integral to most restoration scenarios is the expansion of Don Pedro Reservoir on the lower Tuolumne to store water for San Francisco. "(Modesto and Turlock) own and operate (Don Pedro), and we have an aversion to sharing its 2 million acre-feet (of water)," said Allen Short, general manager of the Modesto Irrigation District. Short said restoration advocates need to ensure that a replacement reservoir is in place before O'Shaughnessy Dam is demolished. "Don Pedro has no space for anyone other than the people of Modesto and Turlock," he said. E-mail Glen Martin at glenmartin@sfchronicle.com. Source: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/18/BAGS4FQHIO1.DTL | ||
| S.F.Chronicle |
Hetch Hetchy -- A Dam Dilemma The environmental debate over whether to restore Hetch Hetchy to its Yosemite-like grandeur has gone on for more than a hundred years. On Thursday, six panelists discussed the idea at a forum sponsored by The San Francisco Chronicle and the Commonwealth Club of California. Chronicle Editorial Page Editor John Diaz moderated. The panelists were: Donald Hoedel, U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Reagan, who suggested tearing down the dam in 1987 at a Commonwealth Club meeting; Susan Leal, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; Tom Graff, regional director of Environmental Defense; Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council; Tom Philp, associate editor at the Sacramento Bee and winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial series on the need to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley; and Allen Short, general manager of the Modesto Irrigation District. This podcast is a 20-minute excerpt from that discussion. The Commonwealth Club will broadcast the full 90-minute panel discussion on Tuesday, Nov. 22, on KALW FM (91.7) at 1 p.m. Source: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=1824 | ||
| Oakland Tribune |
Hetch Hetchy project wins approval S.F. agency gives go-ahead to revised plan to rebuild 167-mile aqueduct that brings region water SAN FRANCISCO — A plan to rebuild the Hetch Hetchy aqueduct to better protect against earthquakes and terror attacks won unanimous approval from the city utility agency responsible for ensuring the water system's safety. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday approved a revised plan to rebuild the 167-mile aqueduct, which starts in Yosemite National Park and ends in the Bay Area and supplies water to San Francisco and surrounding counties. The 10-year construction project is expected to cost $4.3 billion and is crucial to assuring the reliability of the region's water supply, officials said. The plan calls for upgrades to pipelines, dams, pump stations and tunnels along the aqueduct. "This was a real watershed day — sorry for the pun — for the PUC and the 2.4 million people we serve," said the agency's http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_3268332 | ||
| mymotherlode.com |
Restore Hetch Hetchy Movement Not Affected By Expansion Plans Thursday, December 01, 2005 - 01:15 PM Sabrina Sabbagh MML News Reporter Yosemite National Park, CA -- Members of Restore Hetch Hetchy say the November 30th approval by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for a $4.3 billion expansion and repair program for its Hetch Hetchy water system does little for their cause. Restore Hetch Hetchy says that the approval of that program in no way adversely affects the proposal to remove the Hetch Hetchy reservoir from San Francisco's water delivery system, in order to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, now buried under 300 feet of water behind the O'Shaughnessy Dam. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is only one of nine reservoirs in San Francisco's water system and accounts for slightly less than 25% of San Francisco's water storage capacity. Ron Good, Executive Director of Restore Hetch Hetchy encourages the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to consider the proposals to modify its system so that Hetch Hetchy Valley may rejoin its twin sister Yosemite Valley as a part of the crown jewel of the national park system, Yosemite National Park. http://www.mymotherlode.com/News/article/kvml/1133464738 | ||
| Ron Good mailing list email |
Editorial: Hetch Hetchy's moment State, feds need to support further study of this Yosemite treasure's future Sunday, January 22, 2006 Story appeared in Forum section, Page E6 Some time next month, the Schwarzenegger administration is expected to release a preliminary study that examines whether something remarkable could happen in Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley. Hetch Hetchy has been submerged since 1923 by a dam that supplies the San Francisco Bay Area. The looming question is whether the Bay Area can find enough water if Hetch Hetchy is drained and restored. There is reason to think that the answer will be yes, at a cost greater than environmentalists would like, but much less than the numbers San Francisco officials have been throwing around. But at this point, the issue really isn't this preliminary finding. The issue is whether it will lead California to revisit big decisions made 90 years ago about one of its most beautiful places. The question for the public is: What is the highest, best use of this magnificent valley? The answer can come only through a truly definitive study. And that can happen only with the cooperation of the Schwarzenegger and Bush administrations. Count us among those whose gut tells them that historic change is in order. In a future California with perhaps 50 million people yearning for natural respites, Hetch Hetchy is more valuable as a meadow surrounded by stunning waterfalls and granite peaks than as a water tank. Yes, there will be challenges about water supply. But society is getting cleverer in conserving, trading and recycling water. There are, however, only so many beautiful places. Hetch Hetchy, were it restored and managed appropriately, would be an addition unlike any other to the national park system. Our gut (and the fact that this preliminary study was done at all) tells us that voices within the Schwarzenegger administration are receptive to a historic re-evaluation of Hetch Hetchy. And there are some significant question marks. New Chief of Staff Susan Kennedy once worked for Sen. Dianne "Hetch Hetchy is San Francisco's Birthright" Feinstein. But in all, minds seem admirably open. So there is reason to hope that the governor will see the future of Hetch Hetchy as a discussion well worth having. The federal Interior Department is harder to read. This idea is probably out of its comfort zone. But no one is asking Interior to blindly tear down a dam. What is needed is a small expenditure over a few years to answer some questions: What does it cost to drain the valley? Can this same water be stored elsewhere? What are the best ways to replace some hydropower and restore the valley? What value would the public place on another Yosemite valley? The historic moment to answer these questions is fast approaching. We don't make light of the challenge. But our gut gives us hope. Ron Good Source: http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/14098865p-14928640c.html | ||
| S.F. Chronicle |
SAN FRANCISCO Firm says it'll filter City Hall tap water Brita donation offer comes after news of bottled water costs Cecilia M. Vega, Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writers Saturday, January 28, 2006 San Francisco politicians and city employees who drink bottled water bought at taxpayer expense may have one less reason to so. A day after The Chronicle reported the city spends about $500,000 a year on the bottled water -- despite owning a reservoir in Yosemite that is said to produce some of the tastiest water in the nation -- an Oakland-based company offered to donate pitchers that filter water to convince city workers to drink from their office faucets instead. Brita Products Co. on Friday said it will send within the next 10 days free pitchers to Mayor Gavin Newsom and each of the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors and 47 city departments that used the water last year. The company says its filters improve the taste and remove sediment that some municipal workers cite as justification for buying bottled water. Thanks, say some in City Hall, where water coolers run rampant. "That's very aquatically philanthropic of them," said Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, who this week called for a hearing into the city's spending on bottled water. He is the only member of the Board of Supervisors who does not have city-funded water delivered to his office. But no thanks, McGoldrick added. "San Francisco already has good water," he said. Since July 2001, city records show, San Francisco has spent $2.36 million in public funds on bottled water and related expenses like paper cups and dispensers. Even the city's Public Utilities Commission, which oversees the granite-lined Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in the Sierra Nevada and the aqueduct that delivers the water to 2.4 million Bay Area customers, last year spent nearly $9,000 on bottled water for its employees. The mayor was out of the country and could not be reached for comment Friday, but his spokesman, Peter Ragone, said his office had not been contacted by Brita. "It would be imprudent to comment on an offer that was conveyed to us by a newspaper reporter," he said. Brita spokesman David Kellis, however, said his company had called the mayor's office of communication on Friday to offer the donation. It was unclear whether that offer was ever conveyed to Ragone. Though the overall spending is a drop in the bucket given the city's $5.3 billion annual budget, some say it's wasted money at a time when San Francisco struggles to close deficits. And, elsewhere in the Bay Area, some cities generally are satisfied asking their workers to drink from the tap. San Jose, the largest city in the Bay Area and 10th largest in the country, "spends zero on bottled water" for its 6,700 employees, according to city spokesman Tom Manheim. Oakland offers bottled water, but it is limited to workers at City Hall, where the pipes -- which date from 1914 -- are so old employees say the water sometimes tastes funny. The rest of the city's 5,000 workers get tap water via the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Richmond springs for bottled water but only supplies its City Council chambers, because there aren't faucets, and its human resources department, because so many people pass through its doors. The bill comes to $100 a month. Fremont doesn't buy any bottled water for its 900 employees. And Walnut Creek has exactly two purchased water jugs -- one for the public near the planning department counter, and one at a warehouse that doesn't have its own drinking faucet. San Francisco, meanwhile, prides itself on having a reputation for supplying the Bay Area with some of the best drinking water through its Hetch Hetchy waterworks. Tests on Hetch Hetchy water show it meets or exceeds state and federal health standards. Last year, the city water department conducted a blind taste test on a busy San Francisco street -- and half of the participants couldn't tell the difference between Hetch Hetchy tap water and bottled water. What city officials and employees say justifies San Francisco's bottled water purchases is the taste and sediment that pipes in government buildings impart to the Hetch Hetchy flow. That's what Brita hopes to change with its donation, which has a value of about $1,200. "From what I understand, it's good-tasting water," said Brita's Kellis. "The difference is Brita takes out some of the contaminants or odors in water, and that can give it a cleaner taste." E-mail Cecilia M. Vega at cvega@sfchronicle.com and Carolyn Jones at carolynjones@sfchronicle.com Source: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/28/BAGMFGUAEJ1.DTL | ||
| contracostatimes.com |
Letter to Editor: Drain Hetch Hetchy reservoir By Jerry Cadagan Your Feb. 26 story "Ripples from '06 quake felt even today," gives a good overview of the long-term consequences of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. In discussing congressional approval of building a reservoir in Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley, the story contains one very inaccurate statement and one very accurate statement. It is totally inaccurate to say that the reservoir in question is "huge." In fact, it is only the 20th largest reservoir in California. It is totally accurate to say that many hope to drain the reservoir and restore the magnificent Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. For more information, see www.hetchhetchy.org Source: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/14017019.htm | ||
| Mass Email from Ron Good Unregistered guest |
Hello members and friends of Restore Hetch Hetchy, Our Summer 2006 newsletter is now available on our website: http://www.hetchhetchy.org/newsletter/ Hope you enjoy reading it! You may need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 7.0) to download the newsletter. Articles include: * Thanking Assemblyman Ira Ruskin for withdrawing AB2659, including sample letters written to Assemblyman Ruskin opposing AB2659; * Meet our Board -- Felicia Woytak; mention of our Oct 8th house-party fundraiser at Felicia's home with Sacramento Bee's Tom Philp * How to Make Charitable Gifts to RHH through IRA, Retirement or Tax Deferred Accounts * Photo of RHH volunteer, Dr. James Gearhart, and visitors at Fremont Earth Day table * Photo of Jay Johnson, Mariposa-Yosemite Tribal Elder, giving a prayer and blessing to the Ancient Ones at Hetch Hetchy Valley. * Catalog item information, including our new, color, blank greeting cards * Premium gift information for renewing members * ads for Patagonia, Jon Fuhrer/Morgan Stanley, Don Fuhrer, Robert Brower/Wildness Within website, Spotty Bat book, Openwater Cycling Best wishes, Ron Ron Good Executive Director RESTORE HETCH HETCHY P.O. Box 3538 Sonora, CA 95370 (209) 533 - HHV 1 [4481] FAX (209) 533 - 8602 www.hetchhetchy.org Imagine the opportunity we Americans have to allow Nature to re-create another place like Yosemite Valley. There is no other opportunity like this anywhere else on Earth. Yosemite National Park represents the very best we have in America. We have the opportunity to make the best even better, with the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley. | ||
| Letter to Sierra Magazine Unregistered guest |
Joan Hamilton Editor Sierra magazine San Francisco, CA Dear Joan, I was surprised to see San Francisco receive a "Hall of Fame" honor in Sierra magazine's July/August 2006 edition as an example of environmental leadership and sustainability, given the fact that in the early 1900s John Muir, the Sierra Club's founder, struggled unsuccessfully to keep San Francisco from building a dam and reservoir on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley. Muir called Hetch Hetchy "a grand landscape garden, one of Nature's rarest and most precious mountain temples." And today, we're still waiting on San Francisco to engage in a meaningful dialogue regarding the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley. Add to that San Francisco's proposal to facilitate urban growth and sprawl by extracting an additional 25 million more gallons of water per day from the national Wild & Scenic Tuolumne River -- when it has virtually no water recycling program of its own. San Francisco's environmentally green halo is more than a little bit tipped on edge. Sincerely, Ron Good Executive Director RESTORE HETCH HETCHY P.O. Box 3538 Sonora, CA 95370 (209) 533 - HHV 1 [4481] FAX (209) 533 - 8602 www.hetchhetchy.org | ||
| patti Senior Member Username: patti Post Number: 176 Registered: 05-2006 |
You go, Ron!! Maybe you should have also added that their "environmentally green halo" was more than a little bit tarnished as well as being "more than a little bit tipped on edge." | ||
| mark Board Administrator Username: mark Post Number: 247 Registered: 05-2001 |
You have to give it to Ron Good when it comes to writing letters to make his point. In that, he’s a busy bee. The Sierra Magazine, headquartered in San Francisco, congratulating their own hometown for being so environmentally correct, sounds like a double standard from Ron's view, and narcissistic from mine. It does sound egocentric on the surface, in a way to perhaps placate and patronize their own reader base, those same people who probably donate large funds to environmental groups, not the least of which would be the Yosemite Fund. Their own constituents are going to be offended by Ron’s remarks, as well they should. Perhaps they should move out of San Francisco, or cancel their subscription to a magazine that claims to be on the correct side of ecology, while also seeking to claim yet even more water from Hetch Hetchy. It’s like a slap in the face to the rest of the nation, as they seek yet even more water from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, as if it were their “birthright”, as Diane Feinstein once stated. “Birthright” indeed, on the backs of Yosemite National Park, however. Everyone in that city seems to want to be on the correct side of any environmental issue, but, when it comes to their source of drinking water being a place that should not belong to them, Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite NATIONAL PARK (which should not be a water tank just for their own consumption and capitalization) those environmentally correct people clearly have a huge set of blinders on. His point about the city not having a water recycling system is a good one. Many places around the globe, where water seems to be more precious commodity than it does in the City of San Francisco, recycling water for purposes other than household use is the norm. Considering that their original primary justification for that water was fire prevention, back in the day, one might think that they could find a way to recycle some of their water in a way so that at least they wouldn’t feel the need to bleed the Tuolumne River dry just to facilitate and justify their own population growth in that city. San Francisco seems to have a sense of entitlement to Hetch Hetchy water, just because those who originally sanctioned their water rights almost a hundred years ago probably believed it to be associated with some kind of divinely ordained “Manifest Destiny”. I think that the way their Hetch Hetchy Deed reads, there is probably no limit on the amount of water that they can drain out of the river, as long as downstream users, ranchers and farmers don't complain. And, I am guessing that in this case, the downstream users probably play second fiddle to the wishes of San Francisco. San Francisco could probably add another ten feet to that dam and still be within their “Deeded” rights. That is, unless the rest of the nation were to wake up, take notice, and do something about it. But, Politicians don't want to debate the issue with Senator Feinstein because they want her support when it comes to their own pork barrel needs in their states. Washington D.C. is a city where dreams come true for anyone who is willing to exchange back scratches. I may want to order a subscription to that magazine, so I can read the follow up letters that will surely come in, responding to Ron Good's comments there. I'm not familiar with the Sierra magazine, however. I may have picked it up in an airport somewhere at some point, but it doesn't ring a bell with me. Maybe I should buy it so that I can be more versed on their views on things, if in fact they are so respected as to have Ron Good bother to write to them. But, when you buy a magazine, you contribute to their efforts, of which I may not agree with. I need to look into them a little first, perhaps. | ||
| patti Senior Member Username: patti Post Number: 178 Registered: 05-2006 |
You might check on eBay. You never know what might pop up there *grin* Another place you might find it would be at a doctor's office. If you ask real nice, they might even let you keep it. That way you'll be clear of contributing to their coffers and still get to peruse their articles. | ||
| mark Board Administrator Username: mark Post Number: 248 Registered: 05-2001 |
Whoa... The website of “SierraMagazine.com” took me right to the Sierra Club's website. I should have known. No wonder I don't know about that magazine... It's THEIR magazine. Remember the "Sierra Club"? They are the organization that forsook their club's founder, John Muir, to vote in support of damming the Tuolumne at Hetch Hetchy. Being headquartered in San Francisco, their organization’s goals have always had conflicting interests when it comes to what goes into their water glasses. The world is full of double standards, so why should we be surprised? | ||
| What the Sierra Club claims... Unregistered guest |
SAN FRANCISCO population 744,230 The first U.S. city to host a United Nations World Environment Day, San Francisco proves its worthiness with progressive purchasing policies (including phasing out toxic products and those from sweatshops), $100 million invested in solar power, and an innovative study of the potential for generating renewable energy from the waves off its shores. The city's acclaimed recycling program also contributes to its top-notch culinary reputation by sending compost made of food scraps to the region's famed vineyards and farms. Source: http://sierramagazine.com/sierra/200607/ halloffame.asp | ||
| pomogo New member Username: pomogo Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2006 |
The final report came out on the cost of restoration of Hetch Hetchy. It is BIG news. It could cost up to 10 billion, but that estimate might be a little high. | ||
| mark Board Administrator Username: mark Post Number: 408 Registered: 05-2001 |
It's not high when compared to a few days of Iraq war funding. Lol. I'd like to read that article. I need to get updated on news articles this week. San Francisco will not likely approve that anyway, because they want to increase water resources, not restore Hetch Hetchy, of course. They'd like to add a few feet to the dam, so they can build more condos, etc. Notice how absent the dialogue has been on this subject in the San Francisco area, where everyone there would like to think that they're so environmentally correct? But, you never know... | ||
| news_article New member Username: news_article Post Number: 1 Registered: 07-2006 |
From the Los Angeles Times EDITORIAL Keep Hetch Hetchy Underwater Price is too high to restore Yosemite valley to its 19th-century state. July 21, 2006 ANYONE WHO PROPOSED damming and inundating Hetch Hetchy Valley today would be run out of the state before you could say "John Muir." But a century ago, the great naturalist fought in vain to preserve the valley, which rivals Yosemite Valley for granite-walled grandeur. Instead, it was filled with water and became a reservoir for San Francisco. The construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam was unquestionably a mistake. But it's not at all clear that dismantling the dam and restoring the valley is the right thing to do now. An admirably impartial state report brought some clarity to the issue this week. It is entirely feasible to drain Hetch Hetchy and still provide San Francisco with water. But restoring the valley would be hellishly expensive — $3 billion to $10 billion. Environmentalists had said it would cost far less. People can and do continue to quibble over the expense — would it really take up to $1.8 billion, as the state says, for engineering, legal and paperwork alone? — but the prohibitive bottom line remains. Restoring Hetch Hetchy is a beautiful environmental dream. But it does not belong on anyone's short list of priority projects. Not only must the cost of restoring Hetch Hetchy be balanced against the laundry list of state infrastructure needs, it also must be weighed alongside bigger environmental threats. Located within Yosemite National Park, Hetch Hetchy is protected from further damage in ways that many other wild resources are not. The billions of dollars needed to restore it could buy a lot of land threatened with development or oil drilling. The money could be used to protect the habitat of a species that might otherwise go extinct, or to combat air pollution in national parks and forests. By contrast, the main idea behind restoring Hetch Hetchy is to open it to tourism and recreation — a worthy goal, certainly. It is not, however, especially urgent. If we someday decide we want to pay whatever it costs to enjoy the Hetch Hetchy Valley instead of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir — well, the valley will still be there decades from now. Until that day comes, there is one question that hasn't been asked but should be: Why isn't Hetch Hetchy open to limited recreation as it is, as a spectacularly scenic lake where people could fish or use non-motorized boats? The fact that water fills the valley to a depth of 300 feet doesn't make the valley's nearly 2,000-foot cliffs less imposing. San Franciscans would undoubtedly squawk, as they do over any proposal that would affect their water supply. And the regional water district might have to upgrade the reservoir's water-treatment system. But the state should be asking this question — and ending the debate over whether it should be spending millions more to study a currently unaffordable water project. | ||
| mark Board Administrator Username: mark Post Number: 414 Registered: 05-2001 |
For future reference, if anyone wants to post a news article, they can do so using the fake registration I just set up as follows: Username: news article Password: news | ||
| news_article New member Username: news_article Post Number: 4 Registered: 07-2006 |
By Michael Gardner COPLEY NEWS SERVICE 7:13 p.m. July 19, 2006 SACRAMENTO – Normally aggressive on environmental issues, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not committed to restoring a lost treasure near Yosemite Valley even as a new state report concludes that a movement to drain the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and turn off its power production contains “no fatal flaws.” Supporters who have dreamed of a reclaimed Hetch Hetchy Valley, just 15 miles from its twin Yosemite Valley, said the broad-brush analysis energizes their cause and they shrugged off the governor's swerve to the sidelines as an election-year necessity. Advertisement “The message is clear: it is feasible. It can be done,” said Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, who plans a series of legislative hearings on the proposal this summer. However, the report warns that the project could cost between $3 billion and $10 billion to replace the lost water and power benefits provided by Hetch Hetchy and its 83-year-old, 312-foot high dam holding back the once-wild Tuolumne River. “It does appear technically feasible to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley,” according to the state study released Wednesday. “However, it is premature to evaluate its financial feasibility.” Critics pounced, saying abandoning Hetch Hetchy would strain an already overloaded power grid and deplete water supplies at a time when the state needs to build more reservoirs and produce more electricity. “This assessment should lay to rest the idea that draining the Bay Area's main source of water warrants further study, particularly in a state that needs more water storage and more clean power, not less,” said Susan Leal, general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Hetchy Hetchy reservoir is the 20th largest in the state, holding enough water for 700,000 households a year and providing enough clean electricity to power San Francisco City Hall, its airport and world-famous cable cars. For that, the city's utility pays the U.S. government just $30,000 a year to rent the 1,970 acres of submerged land. However, San Francisco contributes about $3 million annually for rangers and watershed maintenance within the Hetch Hetchy system, a figure that will rise to $5 million under a new lease. More broadly, Hetch Hetchy is part of a water and supply network that serves 2.4 million people in the overall San Francisco region and generates enough power for 300,000 households a year. In San Francisco, Schwarzenegger sidestepped taking a position. “There are many more questions that have to be answered. This will go on for a while because there are a lot of things we don't know,” he said, adding a string of questions of his own: “Is it something that will be a good idea, is it a bad idea, what will it cost, how important is it for the environment, what do the people think?” Supporters believe the governor will enter the fray, if he is re-elected. “It's July in an election year,” said Tom Graff, an attorney with Environmental Defense. “We're realists.” The state's strategy is to step aside and let the public and federal government take the lead for now, officials said. “To take this to a much more meaningful level you're going to have to have broader participation,” said Gary Bardini, who helped prepare the study. A more detailed analysis could cost $65 million, according to the state. In something of a political role reversal, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., opposes closing the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. But former Reagan Interior Secretary Don Hodel is a champion of the restoration campaign. “Draining the reservoir would be far too expensive and leave the state vulnerable to both drought and blackout,” Feinstein said. Feinstein wields considerable influence because Hetch Hetchy is within Yosemite, a national park. Congress would likely have to sign off on any plan to tear down the dam and restore the valley. Hodel knows it will be a battle. During the Reagan era he tried to launch studies, but was thwarted by pressure from Feinstein, then the mayor of San Francisco. “It's unfortunate that if this was in any other place San Francisco would be beating the drums to remove the dam ... What is it worth to add another Yosemite Valley?” Hodel said Wednesday. The state report, based on a compilation of several different older studies, details options to find replacement water and power, mostly by building more storage capacity elsewhere and tapping other energy sources. “I would say neutral,” said Jim Spence, a water and power specialist, when asked how to describe the state's position toward restoration. “We haven't uncovered anything technically that's a show-stopper.” Hetch Hetchy Valley, now submerged under 300 feet of water, was once described by noted conservationist John Muir as a “mountain temple.” About 55,000 people visit Hetch Hetchy a year, compared to the 3.2 million who gasp at towering Half Dome from the Yosemite Valley floor. Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state /20060719-1913-cnshetchhetchy.html | ||
| s_f_chronicle New member Username: s_f_chronicle Post Number: 3 Registered: 07-2006 |
HETCH HETCHY VALLEY Tearing down dam a bomb in Capitol Silence is lawmakers' nicest response to environmental plan Edward Epstein, Chronicle Washington Bureau Saturday, July 22, 2006 Printable Version Email This Article If advocates of tearing down San Francisco's dam at Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite National Park were hoping for even a single word of support from the Bay Area's congressional delegation, they haven't gotten it. This week's state Department of Water Resources report putting the cost of such a project at $3 billion to $10 billion has been met in Washington with a stony silence, wonder that anyone would want to get rid of the O'Shaughnessy hydroelectric dam and reservoirs that provide water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents, and aggressive denunciation of the idea and its environmental backers. After the report came out, The Chronicle sought reaction from the members of Congress most involved. Three didn't respond: Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, whose constituents in San Mateo and San Francisco counties enjoy Hetch Hetchy's Sierra water; Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, whose district includes Yosemite and who chairs a House Resources subcommittee responsible for water projects; and Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, one of the Senate's leading environmentalists. And here's what House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said: "Well, it's such a foreign idea, notion, to me I don't even call it an idea that they would tear down Hetch Hetchy. But any plan that has a disparity of $3 billion to $10 billion is one that needs close attention. That's a variation of 300 percent. So I will be happy to talk to you about it after I read it, but that's a big disparity and a big controversy.'' Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, who has tangled bitterly with Bay Area environmentalists on a variety of issues, is sure of his opinion. His spokesman, Brian Kennedy, ripped into everything to do with the idea of tampering with the Hetch Hetchy system. "Tear down Hetch Hetchy? The idea has certain comedic value,'' said Kennedy, whose boss chairs the House Resources Committee that would have to give the go-ahead to the idea. "They're going to have a very hard time getting a member of Congress to stand behind their harebrained idea with a $10 billion price tag.'' Kennedy said he expects the advocates of restoring the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its pre-dam natural state to persist despite the state report. "Fanatics don't go away, by definition. That's what they do. They just hang around, never changing their mind,'' he added. The one member of Congress who leaped into action when the state report was issued was Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. The former San Francisco mayor, who in that role was the boss of the city Public Utilities Commission that operates Hetch Hetchy, was only a little more restrained than Kennedy. "Dismantling O'Shaughnessy Dam and draining the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir are unwarranted and the cost is indefensible, particularly given the tremendous infrastructure needs facing our state,'' she said in a statement. "Draining the reservoir would be far too expensive and leave the state vulnerable to both drought and blackout,'' Feinstein added. After the report was issued, backers of the idea said they were heartened the state said the project was as least feasible. They are pressing for more study. Congress will inevitably have to get involved, if the idea progresses, because Hetch Hetchy is federal property within a national park. E-mail Edward Epstein at eepstein@sfchronicle.com Source: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f= /c/a/2006/07/22/BAGN1K3TQD1.DTL | ||
| mark Board Administrator Username: mark Post Number: 426 Registered: 05-2001 |
Mailing list email from Ron Good: Hello members and friends of Restore Hetch Hetchy, The Schwarzenegger Administration has released its study of the possibility of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. While we are pleased that the report acknowledges that it is technically feasible to restore Hetch Hetchy, it places an unreasonably high price tag of $3 billion to $10 billion on the restoration. Our initial reading of the report indicates that this pricetag includes totally unrelated additional storage facilities -- not necessary for merely replacing the storage with the removal of the O'Shaughnessy Dam. Critics of the Governor's report (like the SF PUC) are focusing on the "cost" with no discussion of the environmental, social, recreational, financial, and spiritual benefits derived from the Valley's restoration. Three newspapers have on-line polls regarding the Governors study: 1) San Jose Mercury News http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryne ws/news/local/15080712.htm ; 2) Contra Costa Times http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/ccti mes/news/local/states/california/1508087 9.htm ; and, 3) San Francisco Chronicle http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/d etail?blogid=13&entry_id=7321#commentpos t Please send an e-mail to each of these three on-line newspaper polls in support of restoring Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley. We'll be getting a lot more information out to you regarding the Governor's report. In the mean time, your e-mail to these on-line newspaper polls would be very helpful. Best wishes, Ron | ||
| mark Board Administrator Username: mark Post Number: 504 Registered: 05-2001 |
Hello members and friends of Restore Hetch Hetchy, I'm pleased to let you know that the Sonora Union Democrat newspaper has three feature articles about the Hetch Hetchy restoration movement in today's paper: http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story. cfm?story_no=21238 http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story. cfm?story_no=21237 http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story. cfm?story_no=21236 Hope you enjoy them. Best wishes, Ron Ron Good Executive Director RESTORE HETCH HETCHY P.O. Box 3538 Sonora, CA 95370 (209) 533 - HHV 1 [4481] FAX (209) 533 - 8602 www.hetchhetchy.org Imagine the opportunity we Americans have to allow Nature to re-create another place like Yosemite Valley. There is no other opportunity like this anywhere else on Earth. Yosemite National Park represents the very best we have in America. We have the opportunity to make the best even better, with the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley. | ||
| news New member Username: news Post Number: 5 Registered: 07-2006 |
American Indians now included Published: August 25, 2006 By MIKE MORRIS Native Americans once used the Hetch Hetchy Valley as a trading spot between tribes and as a place to collect rare plants that were used in sacred ceremonies. The valley now sits below 117 billion gallons of water at the bottom of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Not only did Native Americans have no say in the construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam, "they weren't even considered United States citizens until a year after the dam was built (in 1923)," said Sonny Hendricks, an elder with the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. But natives' voices are being heard now that talk has turned to removing the dam, said Ron Good, executive director of Restore Hetch Hetchy, the Sonora-based group leading the effort to drain the reservoir. "It's very important to us that the Native American point of view be included in this discussion," he said. In its Hetch Hetch Restoration Study released last month, the California Department of Water Resources lists the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk as a stakeholder in the valley's future. "We do have a deep interest because native tribes have used this area for thousands of years," Hendricks said. Last year, state officials met with about 20 Native American representatives, including Hendricks, at the Tuolumne Rancheria. Those at the meeting were adamant that tribes should be involved in the decision to drain and manage the land. Opinions ranged from returning full tribal ownership of the land to maintaining the valley as a national wilderness area open to the public, the state's report says. According to the report, seven prehistoric archaeological sites were recorded around the edge of the reservoir in 1951 by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Forty years later, an additional 10 sites were recorded by National Park Service archaeologists when the reservoir's water level fell to its lowest level since it was flooded. Hendricks said if the reservoir is drained, it will surely be developed and "destroyed over a period of time." "We've already seen and have had many debates over what has happened to Yosemite Valley," he said. Along with limiting development, tribal leaders told state officials that recreation should be restricted to low-impact activities, that restoration of native plants, wildlife and waterways should be a top priority and that tribes should be given access to ceremonial grounds. Several tribes whose ancestors lived around the Hetch Hetchy Valley have formed the Tribal Forum of Indigenous People so that the Native American perspective can be included when it comes to the future of Hetch Hetchy. Hendricks said his research clearly shows that the Hetch Hetchy Valley is the ancestral home of the Central Sierra Miwok, which includes the Tuolumne Me-Wuk. Other tribes that have ties to the valley include the North Fork Band of Mono Indians, the Bridgeport Paiute Indian Colony, the Mono Lake Kutzadika Indian Community and the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation. Hendricks said whether the dam is torn down or not is a decision that will be made by a wide variety of people. "It is going to be made by congressional action and influenced by all stakeholders," he said. "We'll do what we can to protect what we can." Source: http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story. cfm?story_no=21248 | ||
| news Junior Member Username: news Post Number: 6 Registered: 07-2006 |
Another Hetch Hetchy story | ||
| pomogo Advanced Member Username: pomogo Post Number: 20 Registered: 07-2006 |
http://www.viamagazine.com/back_talk.asp Avoiding those hordes in the national parks Thanks for the July/ August article "National Parks: The Trails Less Traveled." It expresses my thoughts about O’Shaughnessy Dam and Hetch Hetchy (left): In covering one beauty, the dam has created another. My father, Bernhard Grethel, was the chief engineer of operations for Hetch Hetchy from 1950 to 1956. He would take me up-country to the dam. Standing on it, admiring the lake surrounded by granite walls, was unforgettable. We saw a few backpackers, but I’ve always felt it sad that more people didn’t view this awe-inspiring sight. JANET GRETHEL CLARK Magalia, California I enjoyed your article on the national parks. I am a descendant of the Paiute Indians, who were the original people of Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite. The writer was correct that there are many other things to see in Yosemite in addition to the common tourist sites that everyone visits. People should get out of their cars and take a hike through the Mono Paiute trails to get the best feel for our ancient homeland. TARA DIAZ Fresno, California Hetch Hetchy In VIA Magazine. | ||
| news Member Username: news Post Number: 19 Registered: 07-2006 |
Hot dam — governor’s plan revives water wars 7 hrs ago Hot dam — governor’s plan revives water wars Ken Garcia, The Examiner SAN FRANCISCO - The astounding $143 billion budget proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week has so many projects and risky ventures, it’s no wonder that a lot of people say it is flush with impassioned pipe dreams. And nowhere may that be more true than in the governor’s plan to build two dams in Northern and Central California, while describing it as an environmentally prudent idea. I seem to recall that our eco-friendly governor was the same person who gave a green light to a study at the behest of environmentalists on the possibility of tearing down the O’Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley that brings precious water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents each day. That fanciful notion has been shown to be an illogical and ridiculously expensive conceit — not that that would ever stop its supporters from pursuing it. But it does seem rather remarkable that the governor’s water experts would spend more than a year studying the potential dismantling of one of the West’s greatest engineering feats and then propose building two new dams under the guise of water resource protection. That’s one of the problems of shuffling around both sides of the same issue — you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Now I realize that Schwarzenegger is positively beaming with big ideas these days — his budget proposal calls for funding so many plans you’d think California has created its own private mint. And one can appreciate his lofty goal of tackling so many systemic problems — from prison reform, to overhauling the health care system, to managing the effects of climate change. But it may be beyond even Schwarzenegger’s Hollywood-honed charms to sell the construction of two dams in California, citing it as a need to offset future decreases in the snowpack. It’s going to be a hard sell to Democrats and the environmental lobby — and previous efforts by the governor to address state water policy have dried up in Sacramento’s balmy political climate. History is not on the governor’s side. California hasn’t built any major dams in more than three decades, and though the idea may win some favor among affluent and powerful agricultural interests, it’s probably a wash in the Capitol where the state’s northern and southern political lobbies more closely resemble the Hatfields and McCoys when it comes to water policy. We can all applaud the governor’s big-picture thinking on how to offset the effects of global warming, but I don’t think that’s going to trickle down into a hearty welcome from officials who are more concerned with plans to improve water quality and supply than on adding dams to California’s water system. The issue is so divisive that the betting line here is that Schwarzenegger won’t waste precious political capital on the idea for long — especially while he’s basking in the headlines for leading the national charge on greenhouse gas emissions and for inspiring a true bipartisan effort to deal with California’s myriad infrastructure issues. Proponents of the new dams, which include a number of Assembly Republicans, say the reservoirs are needed to deal with the state’s pipe-bursting population growth, averaging about 600,000 new residents per year. They also put out that new storage could be used to deal with flood management. The governor’s plan calls for up to $5 billion to be set aside to build two dams that have been debated for years. One of the proposed dams, called Temperance Flat, is located east of Fresno on the San Joaquin River, not far from an existing reservoir called Friant Dam. The other, taking the name of a tiny Colusa County town called Sites 80 miles north of Sacramento, would flood about 14,000 acres of existing ranch country. The two dams would hold some 3 billion acre-feet of water. But critics say the proposal doesn’t deal with many of the problems in the delta and its many vulnerable levees, problems that are supposed to be addressed in the $43 billion bond voters passed recently. And environmentalists contend that the new reservoirs are less about future storage to combat global warming and more about subsidized water for San Joaquin Valley farmers. If it sounds like one of the oldest battles in the West, it is. That's why the chances of passage for the plan are likely slim in a Democrat-controlled Legislature. Yet any dam construction plan in California should at least silence the drumbeat to take down one of its most vital reservoirs. At some point the debate over the future of Hetch Hetchy may evaporate, but let’s hope its water never will. Ken Garcia’s column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends in The Examiner. E-mail him at kgarcia@examiner.com or call him at (415) 359-2663. Source: http://www.examiner.com/a-510778~Hot_dam ___governor_s_plan_revives_water_wars.ht ml | ||
| marsha Senior Member Username: marsha Post Number: 247 Registered: 05-2006 |
In my mind the building of the O'Shaughnessy Dam can not be considered one of the west's great engineering feats. There are other dams and engineering projects that were much more difficult then damming up a narrow passage to the Hetch Hetchy valley. It was more of a logistics problem of how to get materials in not that is was such a difficult place to build. It should be know as one of the west's bigest mistakes. To build a dam in a National Park set a precedence to allow development in National Parks that benefit private entities not, preserve one of our greatest resources - our National Parks. The dam could have just as easily been built further downstream like the other dams in the area. | ||
| mark Board Administrator Username: mark Post Number: 1023 Registered: 05-2001 |
Quote from the late David Brower regarding Hetch Hetchy: "It belongs to everybody," Brower said of the Hetch Hetchy Valley when he visited it in May 2000, six months before he died. "We happen to be the current custodians. And San Francisco happens to be the current pirates." | ||
| news Intermediate Member Username: news Post Number: 42 Registered: 07-2006 |
Support for Federal Study of Restoration of Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley By: Restore Hetch Hetchy Published: Mar 15, 2007 at 08:40 On March 12 the letter set forth below was sent to all members of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate. It reflects the broad support, both in California and nationally, for the proposal found in the Department of Interior's proposed FY 2008 budget for further study of the bold idea of removing the relatively small reservoir currently intruding on Yosemite National Park's magnificent Hetch Hetchy Valley. March 12, 2007 Members, House of Representatives United States Senators Re: Funding to study restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park _ Dear Senators and House Members: Please support an appropriation of $7 million for the Department of the Interior to study the restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, as proposed in the Presidentís budget. These funds are only for study. Hetch Hetchy Valley was created thousands of years ago when glaciers descending California's Sierra Nevada left behind a spectacular setting of mountain meadows surrounded by towering granite cliffs and thundering waterfalls. In 1890, Hetch Hetchy was protected for all Americans as part of Yosemite National Park. Twenty three years later, however, Congress authorized the construction of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. Today such an intrusion on a national park would be inconceivable. In 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggerís administration released a review of recent studies proposing restoration of Hetch Hetchy. The State review called replacement of the reservoir feasible, and proposed further studies with increased involvement of the Federal government. The President's budget responds to the Governorís request for federal participation. We believe that a cooperative effort among interested parties, with federal sponsorship, would provide the best forum for studying a potential restoration plan. We understand that any restoration plan must assure that all water and power replacement supplies are operational before restoration can begin. The plan must provide a reliable supply of high-quality water to San Francisco and other Bay Area cities and replace the hydropower that would be lost. Equally important, a restoration plan must also protect other intertwined interests, including the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districtsí water rights, as well as recreational and ecosystem values along the Tuolumne River. While developing such a restoration plan presents a significant challenge, the reward would be tremendous. The restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park would provide a virtual twin of world famous Yosemite Valley, and would be a treasured gift for our children and grandchildren. Please support the proposal for the Department of the Interior to pursue this historic opportunity. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Restore Hetch Hetchy Environmental Defense Sierra Club National Wildlife Federation Earthjustice Friends of the Earth Clean Water Action Natural Heritage Institute The Bay Institute Northern California Council, Federation of Fly Fishers Planning and Conservation League South Yuba River Citizens League Mono Lake Committee Sierra Nevada Alliance Tuolumne River Trust Source: http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/ar ticle_52978.shtml | ||
| news Intermediate Member Username: news Post Number: 43 Registered: 07-2006 |
Bush budget encourages Restore Hetch Hetchy group Published: March 16, 2007 By MIKE MORRIS The Union Democrat A Sonora-based group pushing to have O'Shaughnessy Dam torn down and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir drained is actively promoting President Bush's proposal to further study the idea. Ron Good, executive director of Restore Hetch Hetchy, and Dave Mihalic, a former Yose-mite National Park superintendent, were in Washington, D.C., last week supporting Bush's proposal to allocate $7 million to more closely study the idea of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley. So far, the trip has apparently been successful: Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, announced Thursday that he is the first congressman to formally support draining Hetch Hetchy, a water source for Groveland and 2.4 million Bay Area residents. Lungren, whose district includes Calaveras County, met with Good and Mihalic last week. "We're cleaning up all sorts of Superfund sites and mistakes of yesteryear," Mihalic said Thursday from his Montana home. "Here we have found a way to continue to have a water supply, to continue to have power generation, and to come up with a second Yosemite Valley. To me, it seems worth it to take a look at the costs and benefits and that's what this study is all about." The president's $2.9 trillion budget, proposed last month for the 2008 fiscal year, includes $7 million to "support Hetch Hetchy restoration studies" that would explore the potential environmental and recreational advantages of returning the valley — which lies in the Tuolumne County portion of Yosemite National Park — to its natural state. Federal studies would build upon last year's analysis by the California Department of Water Resources, which found restoring the valley is possible but would cost between $3 billion and $10 billion. Bush's funding proposal, however, faces opposition in Congress where the idea has never found broad political support. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the San Francisco Democrat who serves on the Senate appropriations committee, is a vocal opponent of tearing down the dam and has said she will try and make sure the money is not in the final budget. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission operates the reservoir, which stores 117 billion gallons of water. The water system stretches all the way from Yosemite to San Francisco. SFPUC officials have argued that draining the valley would threaten the region's water supply and rob the city 20 percent of its electricity. Congress approved damming the Tuolumne River nearly 100 years ago to create the reservoir and provide drinking water for San Francisco. Hetch Hetchy — about 15 miles north of Yosemite Valley — is the 20th largest reservoir in the state. While on Capitol Hill last week, Good and Mihalic met with Department of the Interior officials as well as several members of the House of Representatives and their staff. Mihalic — Yosemite's superintendent from September 1999 to January 2003 — said most people responded in one of two ways. "Some people didn't understand the specifics of the issue, but they knew Dianne Feinstein's position," he said. Others, Mihalic said, "were pleased to see President Bush put the $7 million in his budget. Some expressed surprise at that." When asked if he was surprised Bush included the study in his proposed budget, Good said, "If there's anything Americans can all agree on, it's that we love our national parks and we want to see good things happen to them." Mihalic agreed by saying, "National parks aren't partisan." Good said there was some initial skepticism when Don Hodel, who was part of President Ronald Reagan's administration, first pitched the idea of restoring the valley nearly 20 years ago. Some people thought the Reagan administration just wanted to "stick it to San Francisco," Good said. But that's not the perception now as Hodel still supports draining the reservoir. Restore Hetch Hetchy has rallied several other environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Tuolumne River Trust, to send a joint letter to all members of Congress voicing support of the funding. "While developing such a restoration plan presents a significant challenge, the reward would be tremendous," the letter states. Within the past month, Restore Hetch Hetchy has also met with state Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, and leaders of the Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce, who last year ran newspaper advertisements titled, "Why Chamber Opposes Restore Hetch Hetchy" and "Restore Hetch Hetchy Has it Wrong." "I think it was worthwhile," Good said of the meeting, adding that there is now a "more civilized tone between the two organizations." The chamber, meanwhile, voted Wednesday to "strongly support improving the state's surface water storage capacity." Chamber President George Segarini said, despite meeting with Restore Hetch Hetchy, the chamber opposes removing any dam in California. "We are probably never going to agree on the issue," he said, "but we've agreed to keep this as professional as we can." Contact Mike Morris at mmorris@uniondemocrat.com or 588-4537. Source: http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story. cfm?story_no=22994 | ||
| news Intermediate Member Username: news Post Number: 44 Registered: 07-2006 |
Lungren Calls for Hetch Hetchy Restoration Written for the web by Kristi Mattes, Multimedia Producer State Study on Restoring Hetch Hetchy Rep. Dan Lungren says it is time to take a serious look at restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park by draining the reservoir. Lungren is the first congressman to come out in favor of draining the reservoir which has been a source of clean water for San Francisco for more than 80 years. Lungren's endorsement of the restoration comes as Congress is beginning to consider President Bush's 2008 budget submission. The submission includes $7 million for the Interior Department to study the idea. In 2004 Gov. Schwarzenegger asked for a review by the Department of Water Resources and the Department of Parks and Recreation. The report found that further study was needed and although no formal recommendations were made as to the next steps, it was agreed that federal participation was needed for future studies. Source: http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx ?storyid=25562 | ||
| news Senior Member Username: news Post Number: 160 Registered: 07-2006 |
Hetch Hetchy can be restored Letter to editor, Modesto Bee: February 02, 2008 03:42:59 PM Recently, Mayor Gavin Newsom made a statement dismissing the idea of restoring Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley. "It would be a monumental mistake," Newsom said. Newsom could not be more mistaken. Los Angeles has cooperated with the restoration of Mono Lake and San Francisco should do the same with Hetch Hetchy. San Francisco is supposed to be a "green city," yet it built and maintains a dam and reservoir in the nation's crown jewel, Yosemite National Park. San Francisco's water supply is not going to be "sacrificed" as Newsom and the SFPUC often state. No water will be lost with Hetch Hetchy's restoration. Dams do not create water. Hetch Hetchy water will simply flow downhill and be captured in other storage areas (underground storage in currently empty aquifers, Don Pedro Reservoir, an enlarged Calaveras Reservoir). I am a high school teacher in San Francisco, and each year I take students to visit the drowned valley of Hetch Hetchy. I believe that Hetch Hetchy could be restored to a beautiful, natural place for the American people and people from all over the world to enjoy. CHAD EVANS San Francisco | ||
| news Senior Member Username: news Post Number: 161 Registered: 07-2006 |
It's technically feasible to restore valley Letter to editor, Modesto Bee: February 02, 2008 03:42:34 PM I was greatly disappointed with the mayor's comment about dismissing the idea of restoring Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite's National Park ("Mayors take bid for cash to D.C.," Jan. 26). I have visited Hetch Hetchy and believe that it could and should be restored to its natural beauty. Clearly, San Francisco is not such a "green city" as they claim to be. They built and maintain a dam that is depriving the nation of a crown jewel in Yosemite National Park, Hetch Hetchy Valley. The Schwarzenegger administration's study done in July 2006 stated it is "technically feasible" to restore Hetch Hetchy. No water will be taken away from San Francisco. It will just be collected further down. Los Angeles has cooperated in restoring Mono Lake, now it is San Francisco's turn to cooperate with restoring Hetch Hetchy. STACI O'CONNELL Simi Valley | ||
| news Senior Member Username: news Post Number: 162 Registered: 07-2006 |
Hetch Hetchy could resemble Yosemite of old Letter to editor, Modesto Bee: February 02, 2008 03:40:04 PM Reading Mayor Newsom's oppositional remark regarding restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley was disconcerting. I rarely go to Yosemite National Park anymore. I recall the beauty and silence of the park of my youth now lost to crowds. Restoring Hetch Hetchy is feasible, would reclaim a lost national treasure for Americans to visit, and expand precious wildlife habitat. It's a no-brainer. Hetch Hetchy can and should be restored. MARK MASON Richmond | ||
| news Senior Member Username: news Post Number: 163 Registered: 07-2006 |
Restored valley could relieve Yosemite crowding Letter to editor, Modesto Bee: February 02, 2008 03:39:49 PM S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom's comments about preventing restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley to its original, useful beauty, ignore the fact that the valley's water will not be lost. It can readily be stored downstream, in existing reservoirs — both above ground and in underground aquifers. Then Hetch Hetchy can become a "relief valve" for the overcrowded Yosemite Valley! MARJORIE ANN OTTENBERG Saratoga | ||
| news Senior Member Username: news Post Number: 164 Registered: 07-2006 |
John Muir would be appalled Letter to editor, Modesto Bee: February 02, 2008 03:40:26 PM Regarding the restoration of the second Yosemite Valley, namely Hetch Hetchy, San Francisco Mayor Newsom is really out of touch with the times when he call the plan to drain the reservoir "a monumental mistake." There are other ways to provide the water and power from Hetch Hetchy and the mayor simply has not studied the research already done. John Muir must be turning over in his grave. PAUL BURKS Santa Rosa | ||
| news Senior Member Username: news Post Number: 165 Registered: 07-2006 |
Why would restoration be a mistake? Letter to editor, Modesto Bee: February 02, 2008 03:40:54 PM I am unclear as to why restoring the Hetch Hetchy valley would be a mistake. If you are worried about revenue, the park's tourism would run at a profit, just as Yosemite Valley does. San Francisco's water supply needs to come from recycled water like they are doing in Southern California. San Francisco's city engineers need to investigate the new sewage treatment plant which sends their processed sewage to the ocean, but then filters it back into pristine drinking water. We all need to practice what we preach — Go Green. JULI CREMEANS Redding | ||
| Curmudgeon New member Username: Curmudgeon Post Number: 1 Registered: 06-2008 |
Restoring Hetch Hetchy--A Modest Proposal: You know, normally I loathe people who want to rip out dams, but here they have a point. Yosemite IS a National Park, after all. How about this trade off: Hetch Hetchy Dam is torn down AFTER: (1) Auburn Dam is built. (2) The North Coast rivers (Eel, Mad, Hayfork, Van Duzen, southern forks of the Trinity) are dammed and diverted. In a state prone to alternating cycles of drought and flood, and badly in need of clean renewable hydroelectric power, anyone who gets mushy about a "wild and scenic river" needs a mental examination and then commitment to the Agnews, Napa, or Patton State Mental Hospitals. Yes, this can be done without flooding out the Round Valley Indian Reservation (the fatal flaw in the original Dos Rios project plan), and yes, enough flow can be left over and hatcheries can be created for the salmon and other fishies. (3) At least 260 base-load megawatts of electricity are generated from (1) and (2) above, and double that peak-load, making up for the lost Hetch Hetchy hydropower. If not, then we must build a nuclear power plant! Redesigning and rebuilding Rancho Seco could work here. (4) Additional San Luis type storage reservoirs are built. (Orestimba, Panoche Canyons are two good sites) (5) any necessary water storage dams on the Tuolumne River downstream from Hetch Hetchy are built below the National Park (Poopenaut Valley, or anywhere else upstream from Lake Don Pedro) (6) The number of Yosemite Valley campsites are restored to 1960’s levels, and finally (7) The restored Hetch Hetchy Valley gets an equivalent number of campsites. Seriously, what good is a national park if hardly anyone can ever enjoy it? | ||
| Mark Board Administrator Username: Mark Post Number: 2306 Registered: 05-2001 |
Interesting ideas, Curmudgeon. Sounds like you've been giving this some thought. |