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Dam
the Hetch Hetchy?!
 Hetch
Hetchy Valley,
in Yosemite National Park, is an area of remarkable natural
beauty. One of only four glacially-carved valleys in California,
it features granite bluffs, tall waterfalls and grand vistas.
Since 1923, Tuolumne River has been impounded by O'Shaughnessy
Dam, creating Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. This 1,900-acre lake
in the middle of the National Park supplies San Francisco
with over 85% of its drinking water, along with a modest amount
of electrical power. The dam was built over the strenuous
objections of legendary conservationist John Muir, and environmentalists
have deplored its existence ever since.
Tuolumne
River Management Plan
The National
Park Service (NPS) is finalizing the scope of a new management
plan for the Tuolumne River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act. This law requires the NPS to preserve select rivers possessing
outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geological,
fish and wildlife, historical, cultural, or other similar
values in free-flowing condition and to protect these rivers
and their immediate environments for the benefit and enjoyment
of present and future generations.
In 2006,
NPS solicited comments from the public, requesting input into
the scope for the Management Plan. Rock the Earth submitted
a detailed legal and technical comment
letter, urging NPS to consider removing the
dam as part of the Management Plan, or at a minimum, to evaluate
alternatives for operating the dam.
Continuing
the planning process, NPS issued the Tuolumne
Planning Workbook this July. This document,
which is written for the non-technical reader, summarizes
the options currently under consideration and requests further
comments from the public. The Workbook does not propose to
consider the management of the dam, or its removal, as part
of the Management Plan.
Rock the
Earth continues to strongly believe that NPS is required to
consider the dam as part of the Management Plan. The Workbook
states that the reservoir is not eligible to be included in
the Wild and Scenic River designation because it is not free-flowing.
This ignores the fact that the only reason the Tuolumne River
is not free-flowing through Hetch Hetchy is due to the presence
of the dam. If the dam was removed, the impounded segment
of the river would be restored to its natural flow, and would
be eligible to be considered for protection under the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act.
In our
September, 2006 comment letter, Rock the Earth demonstrated
that removing the dam and preserving San Francisco's water
supply are technically feasible and worthy of further study.
In addition,
the presence of the dam clearly affects the free-flowing segments
upstream and downstream of the reservoir. For example, lowering
the water level could potentially reclaim a portion of the
river upstream of the reservoir. Apart from the option of
removing the dam entirely, NPS should consider alternatives
for operating the dam in order to fully assess its impacts
on the river and the river's outstandingly remarkable values.
Get
Involved!
NPS is
accepting comments from the public through September 15th.
We encourage our friends and members to participate in
the public discussion on the future of this natural wonder.
If you believe that removing or altering the operation of
O'Shaughnessy Dam should be considered as part of the Tuolumne
River Management Plan, consider submitting a comment to NPS.
Some points you may want to include:
- Hetch
Hetchy Valley and the Tuolumne represents an outstandingly
remarkable natural resource that NPS is mandated to protect;
- Removal
of the dam is technically feasible, and, in conjunction
with other improvements, can be implemented without endangering
San Francisco's water supply;
- Short
of removing the dam, NPS should evaluate alternatives for
the operation of the dam.
Apart
from issues surrounding Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the Workbook
contains a great deal of information on management options
for the other segments of the Tuolumne River within the National
Park. We encourage you to download
and read this document, and share your thoughts about the
management of the river with NPS.
You can
submit your comments via email to yose_planning@nps.gov,
or by snail mail at:
Yosemite
Planning
Yosemite
National Park
P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389
For
more information on this issue, visit the project
page on our website.
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