Loving Yosemite means many things ... like loving reliable water deliveries as well

For many of us, loving Yosemite means loving the whole park and therefore restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley to its former glory. And restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley means developing a practical water system solution for San Francisco and its Bay Area customers. So Restore Hetch Hetchy loves a reliable water system as well.

We have always emphasized that San Francisco can and should continue diversions of high quality Tuolumne River water. We just don't want the city to store the water within the boundaries of Yosemite. Analysis shows that 95% of the Tuolumne River supplies now diverted to San Francisco would still be available after Hetch Hetchy Valley is restored.  

So we are scratching our heads over the recent news that another critical piece of San Francisco's infrastructure is at risk. As the SF Examiner reports, the Mountain Tunnel could collapse and is in need of a $M 628 repair. The Mountain Tunnel is just one of five principal tunnels through which Tuolumne River diversions flow enroute from the Sierra to the Bay Area (see diagram). 

Restore Hetch Hetchy supports repair of this critical infrastructure - as we did a decade ago when the Irvington Tunnel was shown to be at risk.  But we also question whether this latest revelation is yet another reason why San Francisco (as well as other urban communities) should question the wisdom of relying on a single remote source for the majority of its water. Last summer's "Rim Fire" made us ask the same question.

Diversity is reliability. Water systems of the future will increasingly develop local supplies - by better managing groundwater, recycling wastewater, capturing storm water and storing supplies closer to their customers.

We hope San Francisco will soon support restoration of Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley, and will diversify its system as well to increase reliability. But meanwhile, we support a timely and cost-effective solution to the problems with the Mountain Tunnel.

Spreck Rosekrans is Executive Director of Restore Hetch Hetchy   

Day hikes into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne?

Yesterday’s Water Law Symposium at UC Hastings in San Francisco included a session titled “The Hetch Hetchy Controversy”. The session included good questions and a few strong opinions on both sides from the audience, as well as some of the usual repartee between Restore Hetch Hetchy and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC).

One young man asked whether we wanted to create “another Yosemite Valley”. By the way he asked the question, he was asking if we envisioned a restoration plan with the infrastructure, crowds and traffic jams that can be overwhelming in Yosemite Valley.

I responded that Restore Hetch Hetchy does not have a definitive plan for how the valley should be managed once it is restored – that is something for the public and National Park Service to work out. I pointed out, however, that the Park Service has allowed little development in Denali, a more recently established national park.

I did say that I could imagine a Hetch Hetchy Valley that did not allow the private automobile, but which included an efficient shuttle system (light rail, bus, or tram) that would transport visitors to the upper end of the valley. I explained that such a shuttle system would allow day hikes into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne – a spectacular area that lies upstream of the current reservoir. Presently the only way to see the Tuolumne’s “Grand Canyon” is to do a multi-day backpack trip.

The SFPUC representative opined that allowing day use of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne would ruin it. (He further opined that the reservoir is protecting the valley – something we have heard before.)

What do supporters of restoration think about how the Park Service should manage a restored valley? How should people get to the upstream end of the valley? Should there be roads? If so, what about the private automobile? How about paved paths for bicycles and wheelchairs?

And should a restored valley include campgrounds or other lodging? Where should these be?

If Yosemite Valley accommodates 4,000,000 people a year, what is the right vision for Hetch Hetchy Valley? Bear in mind that both are about nine miles long but Yosemite Valley is wider.

How do we restore a valley so it can be loved but not loved to death?

Please share any thought you have on these matters below. Right now the discussion is just for fun. It will be more serious, and more exciting, once plans to remove the reservoir are in place.

Can the drought provide a silver lining for Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy?

As expected, Gov. Brown has declared a statewide drought in California. We’ve had dry years and even droughts before, but nothing that compares to a winter this dry (so far) since 1977.

There’s only so much we can do once we’re in this mess. In our cities, we will cut back, take short showers and let our yards go brown. In the Central Valley, many fields will go unplanted - causing economic hardship and increasing food prices.

The Governor’s executive order does do a few things. It includes provisions to streamline (pun intended) water transfers - the market-based sale of water from one user to another. Transfers can be complicated, physically and politically, but when done right transfers provide a powerful economic incentive for efficient use while reducing the pressure to increase diversions from our rivers, streams and wetlands. But the appropriate processing of and guidelines for managing water transfers should be in place permanently, as executing them on a piecemeal  basis in dry years serves neither the planning needs of water agencies nor the public’s need to ensure natural resources are not harmed.

The governor’s announcement describes the depleted state of major reservoirs in California, comparing them to average levels. There are a few things worth noting. First, the O’Shaughnessy Dam/Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park is not included in this list. That is because every stream in California’s Sierra Nevada is controlled by a dam that is much larger than O’Shaughnessy. Second, the governor’s announcement does not show how much water is available in our aquifers. That’s because we don’t know - in many parts of California there is little or no control of who pumps out how much groundwater.

Groundwater management is a mixed bag in California. In 2014 as much as 40% of our statewide supply may be pumped from underground. In some areas unsustainable groundwater pumping will allow farmers to get by for another year (albeit with significant pumping costs) but only will exacerbate long-term overdraft problems. On the other hand, most of California’s urban centers have invested in groundwater recharge by replenishing aquifers in Kern County and will be very glad they made those investments.

It may be that the dire conditions statewide this year will be sufficient to inspire improved regional and/or statewide solutions to the well-publicized over drafting of our groundwater basins. Keep your eyes on places like Stanislaus County, where recently hired Water Resources Manager Walt Ward will need to address lawsuits that challenge permits to drill of new wells.

The drought may also encourage cities to move more aggressively on their plans to increase the recycling of wastewater. To date, we have mostly seen recycled water put into “purple pipe” – to be used only for irrigation and industrial uses - not for drinking. The game changer will be when cities recycle and fully treat wastewater to potable standards (“Direct Potable Reuse”). Scientists and engineers tell us that doing so is perfectly safe, and note that many communities drink water today which is diverted downstream of other communities’ water treatment plants. But drinking recycled water is not yet approved by the California Department of Public Health or accepted by the public. When Singapore developed its Direct Potable Reuse program, they enlisted the participation of elected officials and celebrities in a successful public relations campaign. There is a rumor that San Diego will be the first city in California to propose Direct Potable Reuse, but it is being cautious for now. You can visit San Diego’s demonstration recycling plant, but they won’t let you drink the water!

As for the opportunity to Restore Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite National Park, we’ve always insisted that restoration should not take place until replacement storage and/or other water supplies are in place. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir of course is not a source of water; it’s simply storage - about 12% of the total surface storage in the Tuolumne River watershed. And there are opportunities to replace that storage - such as expanding the offstream Los Vaqueros Reservoir or investing in the Semitropic Water Bank.

But while Hetch Hetchy is a medium-size reservoir by California standards, it’s the greatest blemish in all of America’s national parks. It was taken from the American people 100 years ago and it is time to give it back.

Let’s hope for a silver lining in this year’s drought. While 2014 looks to be a tough year from a water supply perspective, it may provide the incentive we need to reform and improve our water systems. And with right improvements, we will be able to restore Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley.