Gee, do you think San Francisco could get any more hysterical about proposed alternatives to the city getting its water from a submerged and majestic canyon in Yosemite National Park?
Even the esteemed San Francisco Chronicle has joined the epidemic of panic, blaming such ideas on "fringe environmentalists" in a Sunday editorial.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission believe that a U.S. Department of the Interior investigation of water use – requested by Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River – is tantamount to dismantling the water system that includes the dam and reservoir in the Hetch Hetchy Valley.
Feinstein and other city boosters should get a grip. Breathe slowly. Imagine each deep breath flowing to your toes. Then visualize a Hetch Hetchy Valley, with a Tuolumne River flowing through – and water still flowing to San Francisco. It can happen, really.
This isn't about demolishing O'Shaunessy Dam or taking away San Francisco's access to Tuolumne River water.
The idea in play is to explore draining the reservoir at Hetch Hetchy (the dam would remain as a historic artifact), allowing San Francisco to continue to have a reliable supply water from the Tuolumne River. But instead of storing the water in Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley, the water would be stored elsewhere.
The idea also is to explore other avenues of water supply. As three former superintendents of Yosemite National Park – Dave Milhalic, Barbara J. Griffin and Bob Binnewies – have written, "by investing in state-of-the-art recycling, conservation and groundwater systems, San Francisco can eliminate the use of Yosemite National Park as a water storage facility."
Jay Lund, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis – among other scientists – has done computer modeling to show that the reservoir is not necessary.
"Fringe"? Hardly.
Pointing to per capita water use, Feinstein claims that San Francisco is a leader in water conservation among California's major metropolitan areas. But after accounting for San Francisco's small lots and annual rainfall, how does it compare? Some believe San Francisco's per capita use would be higher than the state average. An investigation, of course, would pin this down.
Before the powers that be in San Francisco get all sanctimonious about water storage in Yosemite National Park, let's not forget that the Hetch Hetchy Valley belongs to the people of the United States.
A 1913 deal allowed San Francisco to shut off access to a swath of Yosemite National Park. Under the Raker Act, body contact and boating are verboten on the reservoir behind the dam or in nearby streams. Day-use hours are limited, and overnight parking at the reservoir is prohibited.
The only reason for this exclusion is so San Francisco won't have to filter its water as other U.S. cities do.
In the end, even if the reservoir remains, the American people should be able to swim, wade, kayak and have recreational access to the Hetch Hetchy Valley watershed – as they do at the reservoirs and streams behind the Shasta, Oroville, Trinity, Folsom, Don Pedro and other U.S. dams.
Breathe slowly. Visualize Tuolumne River water flowing to San Francisco, through a restored Hetch Hetchy Valley. Feel the cool water on your bare feet. Repeat until the anxiety disappears.
This is 2012, not 1913. It's time to move into the 21st century.
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