United States. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. Hours: Year-round, but only accessible by car when the Hetch Hetchy Road is open. In 2007, the Bush A truly excellent project. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com, Yoohyun.Jung@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang, @yoohyun_jung. environmental context. The SFPUC has also raised concerns over the fishery benefits of the States Plan. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Major snowstorm might leave you stranded, New 101 express lanes opens in Bay Area. Official websites use .gov the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state. Day Hikes in Hetch Hetchy - National Park Service Impounded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water passes through hydroelectric powerhouses before it enters the San Joaquin Pipelines, the Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, and the Coast Range Tunnel on its journey to the Bay Area. The data on water storage comes from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Data Exchange Center. } lawsuit, saying Restore Hetch Hetchys arguments were preempted hetch hetchy reservoir level percentage - Examiner A wet December produced ample snowfall, which is still sitting at high elevations. She was previously an engagement reporter. Data have been checked by the reporting agency. The reservoir was at 75 percent capacity as of May 5, totaling 269,963 acre-feet of water (an acre-foot is nearly 326,000 gallons). https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=HTH Trailhead coordinates: 37.946905, -119.787376 (37 56 48.85N 119 47 14.55W) O'Shaughnessy Dam was built on the Tuolumne River in 1923 to create Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Similar findings are described in theUC Davis studyRe-Assembling Hetch HetchyandUS Bureau of Reclamation study. California snowpack hits highest level this century for March. The source water from SFPUC is typically from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Located in the northwest portion of Yosemite National Park, Hetch Just a wistful thought, it would be really cool to graph the water release statistics. I recently joined the team with Restore Hetch Hetchy as Engagement & Development Director. The SFPUC has voiced concerns with the Plan, as it would dramatically reduce the agencys water supply, leaving it subject to significant rationing in droughts and more extreme weather conditions brought on by climate change. The BAWSCA agencies are therefore key stakeholders in ensuring the system serves as a reliable source of high quality water. Top ways to experience Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and nearby attractions Yosemite: Audio Driving Tour 1 Full-day Tours from $9.99 per group (up to 8) Private Yosemite Explorer Package | 3 Days of Adventure 3 Private and Luxury from $750.00 per adult (price varies by group size) Private Family Photo Day in Yosemite 78 Recommended Full-day Tours from The water treatment facilities are Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, disinfecting the Hetch Hetchy supply; Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant, treating the water from the Calaveras and San Antonio supply as well as the stored Hetch Hetchy supply; and Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant, treating the water from the Crystal Springs and San Andreas supply. That cant be right. The height of the row indicates how much water the reservoir could hold. At the same time, theyve also said its critical to maintain sufficient water supplies to keep Bay Area communities and its economy running during a prolonged drought. Local reservoir inflows have negative daily flow rates set to zero. Awesome work!! BAWSCA agencies advocated for the capital improvement program that was adopted by the SFPUC in 2002, and are actively monitoring its implementation. }, 150); An official website of the United States government. Wonderful site. Ive been meaning to search for aquifer levels. Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Lock Usually with warm ARs, you get a dramatic increase in inflow, which can fill even very large reservoirs relatively quickly, like Oroville in 2017. I have wanted to do exactly this plot for years. Within San Francisco, we manage water distribution in the City. It could be the 180% of historical average of snowpack, which will be melting in a couple months. For the first week of February, there was a slight increase for most reservoirs from January amounts. P.S. 501(c)3 organization, federal tax ID #942419885. How do I contact support? Here's what that means. John Muir and the I second that request. drained by the Tuolumne Water is such a fascinating topic and Id hate to have to be a water manager making a decision on how much to release to avoid reservoir flooding. My guess would be that the recent systems have been cold and so they are predominantly dropping snow on the watershed. pertained to water that was wasted, and there was no claim that How Fast Are California Reservoirs Filling Up? River. Central Valleyfarms have installed enough drip irrigationstrips to reach the moon and back, an improvement that also enables more efficient application of fertilizer and pesticides. Hetch Hetchy has generated controversy since it was first Greetings from Mount Laurel New Jersey. One gauge in the area has measured 6.12 inches since Oct. 1, which is 899% of normal. She is a University of Washington graduate. Long-term values for reservoir inflows use maximum number of complete water years in record. How Much Water is in California Reservoirs? I live in the central valley. The Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which supplies water for San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area, was at 77% of its 360,000-acre-feet storage capacity in January compared to 73% in December, and on Feb. 7, it was up to 82%. It allowed the water over the spillway to move too fast creating a vacuum between the water and the concrete that pulled the concrete sections out of the spillway. Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which serves San Francisco, Heres an example of that data for Shasta, where you can see the daily inflows and outflows: According to the SFPUC, the upper reaches of the Tuolumne River have received about 36 inches of rain since the start of the water year in October, almost as much as what the area averages in a year. Trailhead address: Evergreen Road (Hetch Hetchy Road), Yosemite National Park, CA 95321. Its water supply Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, in the Sierra Nevada is 80% full, the ground is saturated and near-record rainfall has occurred in recent days. Turn right on to Hetch Hetchy Road - Evergreen Road and continue another 7.5 miles to the parking area for Hetchy Hetchy Reservoir next to the dam. The water transmission system in the Bay Area and Peninsula includes the Bay Division, San Andreas, Sunset Supply, and Crystal Springs pipelines. Only improvement I would suggest is an improvement of the display of the smaller reservoirs so the names are readable. PDF Water Supply Update - California "Soils that have become hydrophobic due to wildfire can also contribute to increased runoff because the water is less able to penetrate the burned soil," the department said. by the Raker Act. Exclusive: Stunning photos show Yosemite National Park under 15 feet of Warriors treating Andrew Wiggins with understandable patience, but his California snowpack hits highest level this century for March, could Map shows which parts of California exceeded entire years worth of rain, Map shows stunning improvement in California drought, Last chance to see: Bay Bridge lights turn off on Sunday. Good info to know. She is also an alumna of Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting Investigative Fellowship and The New York Times Student Journalism Institute. All Rights Reserved. Curious why Shasta lake seems to be making big gains in water coming in and Trinity not so much? Click here for the SFPUC's 2020State of the Regional Water System Report. Article X, Section 2 that requires diversions for all water The cities of Burlingame, Hayward, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Redwood City and San Mateo, along with the Alameda County Water District, were among Bay Area communities whose support was influential in persuading Congress to pass the controversial Act, and President Woodrow Wilson to sign it. So while that is kind of good news, he said, things start to look more grim after January produced paltry rainfall and, so far, February has also been dry. An improvement: Could you include a bar for Last year at this date? His recent work has examined the impacts of drought, threats to public lands and wildlife, and the nation's widening rural-urban divide. proposed as a source of water following the 1906 San Francisco UPDATE: Here's where California reservoir levels stand after this week's rains. Especially for small ones it is hard to identify them and click on them. The half-hour drive to Hetch Hetchy from CA Highway 120 begins outside the park boundaries. Didnt realize how bad things were there. It certainly looks dry at least until the last week in February, he said. The worst possible scenario is it just remains completely dry. Part of the lake is on the California side, but it has zero California water impact beyond the immediate Tahoe residents. Congressman Tom McClintock has re-introduced theYosemite National Park Equal Access and Fairness Act, a bill that would allow non-motorized Sign up to receive blog posts and other news by email. Meant this comment for the integrated snowpack and reservoir view. You dont see runoff right away, the snow is still up there, frozen, doing what we want it to do, he said. That puts it at 84 percent of where it would usually be usually at this time of year. This site is a great tool, especially as we try to climb out of these drought years. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the After record snowfall in December was followed by a dry January, there are renewed concerns of drought. provides water to 2.7 million residents and businesses in the San And more work is underway. Hetch Hetchy gushes over wetlands Institute of the Environment and Read more about the data team and their work. An official website of the United States government. Thank you! a minimum, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities SF's Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full. Is that a good thing? Located within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, the reservoir saw a sizable 21.31-foot bump in its water level and gained 36,300 acre-feet, according to Tuesday data from the U.S. Geological Survey. It didnt end the drought, but it was definitely really good," said Ritchie. San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full for the first time in years. It was the only tool that I could find that would allow me to make a vertical marimekko graph. Thinking more about it. Hetch Hetchy is only one of nine reservoirs in the San Francisco Public Utility Commissions water system. Voters rejected a 2012 Instructions: But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. I notice Briones Reservoir is not on the list. I realize there we dont want to reservoirs overflowing, but why are we still below historical average? Our flagship blog features analysis of news from our staff and announcements of upcoming events. }, false); Lake Tahoe really isnt part of California water, as the outflow goes to Nevada. https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=SHA generates electricity for the city). I see many of the local canals flowing with lots of water. Id only be interested in the totals from Oroville and Shasta. Why is it not listed? Wife of missing Bay Area radio host says Jeffrey Vandergrift will not Sen. Dianne Feinstein is hospitalized in San Francisco with shingles, California extends deadline to file 2022 income taxes to match IRS decision, Going to Tahoe this weekend? reloadiframes(); California reservoir levels: . The judge also noted the provision of the state Great stuff. From the main road, it's about a 20- to 25-minute drive to the parking area. There doesnt seem to be any site that shows the impact of each storm. Thank you for the time and effort in creating the graphs. . Kellie Hwang is the newsletter editor for The San Francisco Chronicle. Echoing the sentiments of famed naturalist John Muir, members say the glacially-carved Hetch Hetchy Valley that the reservoir sits in is comparable in grandeur to Yosemite Valley and should not be flooded. the issue, including those under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Is it because the laws have changed on how much each reservoir can hold or is it in anticipation of significantly more rain? Water data back to 1956 are available online. Twenty of San Eighty-five percent of the water comes from Sierra Nevada snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir situated on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. Charts from the California Department of Water Resources show conditions at key state reservoirs on Oct. 22 (left) and on Nov. 2 (right). Previously, Kellie covered dining news and trends, visual arts, events and nightlife for the Arizona Republic, and freelanced for the former Contra Costa Times. It does not meet the California definition of renewable energy. construction in the 1920s, various groups have lobbied to restore Draining Hetch Hetchy without depriving Bay Area residents of required on whether to demolish OShaughnessy Dam. rejected by an appellate court and the California Supreme Court Secure .gov websites use HTTPS McClintock bill proposes to improve public access at Hetch Hetchy. With how we can now basically pinpoint future precipitation amounts at least a month in advance, no reason to not let these reservoirs fill up past historic averages for this date. do so. The trail takes you to the base of Wapama Falls, passing two smaller waterfalls (during spring) on the way. Crystal Springs Reservoir, along Highway 280 in San Mateo County, was 89 percent . What rates am I paying? Delivering approximately 260 million gallons of water per day, the regional system consists of over 280 miles of pipelines, over 60 miles of tunnels, 11 reservoirs, five pump stations and two water treatment plants. It used to be full (and beyond). All rights Begin at O'Shaughnessy Dam. Even with the latest precipitation, Folsoms values was unchanged. Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made storage reservoir for storing imported water only. It was at 60 percent as of March 1 and rising, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Other California water agencies have done far more to reduce the impact of their system on Mono Lake, the Trinity and San Joaquin Rivers, and the Bay-Delta. For each of the top 8 reservoirs the storage has increased by a total of 217 kaf, however). How much NorCal reservoirs shot up a week after big storm - SFGATE Californias largest water agencies, in both the urban and agricultural sectors, have invested in ambitious groundwater banking programs inKern County. Similar to the water supply issues discussed above, the amount of power replacement is small in a statewide context less than of 1% of the renewable power supply being developed this decade alone. globe.height = globe.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+40+"px"; the city wastes water, so it was a moot issue. Thanks. This is also affected by most of these dams multi-purpose nature where they are near constantly releasing for power(like Shasta) or to make room for flood control capacity(like Folsom). Hetch Hetchy today | Restore Hetch Hetchy In another sign that Californias drought is easing, San Francisco captured more than a years worth of water in just one months time. 95 percent of. Find out more about the system at http://www.sfwater.org, BAWSCA Board Policy Committee Meeting, April 12, 2023 1:30pm. I have to agree with many people here what a great job making such a clear graph of whats happening. During the winter months, they let water out of the reservoirs in anticipation of large storms. This is the first state (of 6 I have lived in) that has had water police and restrictions. Could the reason be that the water from Lake Alma or seems to be used for energy generation, and that there does not seem to be any agricultural or urban use? The recent spate of storms lifted the statewide snowpack to 190% of average for the start of the month, and more snow is on the way. Meanwhile, the group Restore Hetch Hetchy is urging the SFPUC to abandon Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Lots of possibilities, just curious. March 12 - The Perks of California Native Wildflowers, March 28 - Rainwater Harvesting and Rain Gardens, April 01 - Lawn Conversion to Native and Drought-Tolerant Plants. May 24, 2022 - BAWSCA Statement About the Adoption of a Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11%. As of 5pm on 1/18, the data appears correct (~58k acre feet), but an hour ago it was reading off the chart (3X above what they are allowed to store right now). Los Angeles,Orange CountyandSan Josehave developed ambitious water recycling programs and have vastly improved local groundwater management.
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