The Hetch Hetchy Valley, located in the California Sierra Nevadas, is a glacial valley which is now located in what is Yosemite National Park. The first European Americans reached the valley in the 1850's, not long after the Gold Rush; the Native Americans had lived in the valley for thousands of years.
The name Hetch Hetchy is theorized to be from the Miwok word hatchhatchie, which meant "edible grasses". The Tuolumne River wended its way through the valley. The valley itself was compared in its beauty to be similar to that of Yosemite Valley.
When Yosemite was made part of a state park in 1864, Hetch Hetchy was not included. It continued to be privately owned and was used for grazing, primarily sheep. Even in the late 1800's the Valley was looked at as a potential source of water for a burgeoning San Francisco Bay Area.
Then the 1906 Earthquake happened.
(Location of the O'Shaughnessey Dam prior to construction, 1914. Source)
With the resulting destruction from the Earthquake, the possibility of using Hetch Hetchy to supply water was investigated. Despite significant arguments from naturalists including John Muir and the fact that by this time Hetch Hetchy was within Yosemite National Park, the project was approved 1913. Work on the dam started in 1919 and completed in 1923.
Edward Abbey, author of The Monkey Wrench Gang, likely had some ideas on how to remove the dam at Hetch Hetchy.
ReplyDeleteEd, even The Outdoorsman and I looked at the dam and questioned it as it is remarkably accessible, although they have large concrete pillars at the entrance - and it is seven miles on a single access road to get there.
DeleteSounds like the area has some interesting history. I can't imagine San Francisco would be willing to let go of the water source.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it really does. The comment by Muir has always stuck with me, and looking at the narrowness of what we can see in some places, my mind wonders what it would look if it has been never developed.
DeleteIt seems odd to me that, given the current world in which we live, the City of San Francisco has not stepped up to pay "its fair share" for the water it uses based on today's costs, not that of a century ago.