That Hetch Hetchy question again
A few days ago, reader Alan Kandel asked a question that many have posed to me over the years: "Will the Hetch Hetchy Valley ever be returned to its original pristine state?"
That's more than just a good question. For some people, it's a quest. For others, it's the trump card in an argument with Bay area environmentalists over the San Joaquin Valley's pollution problems.
Hetch Hetchy Valley, as you probably know, is a Yosemite National Park landmark submerged under water behind a dam that belongs to San Francisco. And San Francisco resists all efforts to change that.
In my experience, big cities, government agencies and industries have to be forced to make such landscape changes, usually by lawsuits.
Los Angeles had to be sued to force the restoration of Mono Lake and the Owens Valley. The government was sued and forced to restore the San Joaquin River.
There are many other examples involving endangered species and air quality.
But who would file a lawsuit over Hetch Hetchy? The Restore Hetch Hetchy group? Would it be a public trust issue? Would it center on salmon restoration, as columnist Bill McEwen has written?
Any ideas out there?
Comments:
I have a side question on the Hetch Hetchy issue. Apart from who will likely file suit (probably a group NOT based in SF) what water alternatives do the current Hetch Hetchy users have?
Posted by: arnie at October 15, 2009 6:32 AM
Arnie --- Go to hetchhetchy.org and read the material under "about us" and "restoration studies". The short answer is that the water alternatives are the same -- the Tuolumne River --- just diverted and stored more efficiently.
Posted by: Jerry at October 15, 2009 10:53 AM
Arnie, to add to Jerry's comment, in addition to the reservoir in Hetch Hetchy, SF has two other reservoirs nearby -- Eleanor and Cherry -- that combined have storage almost equal to Hetch Hetchy. SF has never used those reservoirs to meet the water needs of SF and the peninsula water users. It uses those reservoirs for power generation, and to meet certain contract requirements with agricultural water districts. At Restore Hetch Hetchy, we believe that Hetch Hetchy could be restored simply in SF better managed its water rights in the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers including taking advantage of those other Sierra reservoirs), along with conservation measures at home. Mark Palley
Posted by: Mark at October 15, 2009 12:44 PM
Hetch Hetchy is also a property rights issue. This twin to Yosemite Valley belongs to America, not San Francisco. Better technology now allows us to provide San Francisco with water while restoring an American treasure. And unlike Yosemite Valley which had commercial development from the start, Hetch Hetchy could be kept pristine. What a gift it could be for future generations.
Posted by: Kay Pitts at October 22, 2009 10:40 AM
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