After running through the Hetch Hetchy dam and powerhouses, the Hetch Hetchy water flows into a 167 mile man-made aqueduct which travels across the Central Valley. Most of these very old large riveted historic pipes are buried underground, but many can be viewed along the aqueduct route where they pass uneven ground or flow into reservoirs or down steep hills. Upon reaching the Bay Area under the city of Fremont that grew over the pipeline, the aqueduct splits into four smaller tributary pipelines. These are called Bay Division Pipelines (BDPL) and each has a different width and capacity.
Hetch Hetchy water is some of the cleanest potable water in the country; due to the clean Sierra snow melt and granite filtered water it provides. Because of this, San Francisco is one of six U.S. cities not required to filter their water, although the water has been disinfected and tested, since 2011.
The debate still rages on about a possible Hetch Hetchy dam removal. Many dams in the western states have already been removed or are in the process of getting removed due to sediment filling and loss of endangered fish spawning areas. However, as long as the western states have a continued record drought and the state of California remains limited on funds, the dam will remain in the same place it has sat since 1923.
| Hetch Hetchy Information Links |
| Hetch
Hetchy before
and after photos Hetch Hetchy Valley Early 1911 Photos |
| Hetch
Hetch Valley in Wikipedia |
| O'Shaughnessy
Dam 1939 Library of Congress Photo |
| 1. O'Shaughnessy Dam - Better
known
as Hetch Hetchy Dam. Currently numbers of environmental groups have
proposals targeting the removal of this dam, the biggest deterrent
would be cost of the project. If the dam is removed people are hoping
the valley would slowly return to the way it looked around 1900.
Dam Hearings |
| Hetchy
Hetchy Timeline - Early
History |
|
HETCH HETCHY VALLEY(Flooded) - The floor of the Valley is about three and a half miles long and about 1/2 mile wide on average. The lower portion was mostly broad meadows about a mile long, with large trees bordering the sides.[Painted renderings of what it could look like again] |
| 3. KOLANA ROCK - Elv 5772 ft. Like Yosemite Valley's granite Half Dome, Kolana Rock is the icon and guardian of Hetch Hetchy Valley.[Photo of what it looked like] |
| 4. HETCH HETCHY DOME - Elv 6186 ft |
| WAPAMA FALLS - At 1341 feet tall Wapama Falls is one of the largest in the world. The showy horsetail plunge falls can be seen running most of the year peaking in late Spring and early summer.[Video] |
| Tuolumne River below the dam. [River Flow] |
|
|
| LA CONTE POINT Elv 6388 ft |
