Water and power for San Francisco from Hetch-Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National ParkVilas, Martin Samuel
History
Water and power for San Francisco from Hetch-Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park
Vilas, Martin Samuel
Hetch Hetchy Valley (Calif.); Water-supply -- California -- San Francisco
The territory on both sides of the Bay, extending south to San Jose for
about fifty miles, has a common interest in obtaining water. All of its
people look to San Francisco to take the lead. A population of about
1,000,000 is included here, of which Alameda furnishes about 25,000,
Oakland about 200,000, Berkeley about 50,000 and Richmond about 15,000.
Under the law passed four years ago, known as the “metropolitan district
act,” two or more municipalities are allowed to join together in a water
supply association. Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda and some other towns on
the Bay have joined to condemn the local water supply to include Lake
Chabot. But in these towns the situation is even worse than in San
Francisco. The eyes of the people are turned anxiously to that city in
the hope that before long she may obtain such an abundance as to fill out
their lack and to provide for the future of these rapidly growing cities.
The proposition of San Francisco is to build a dam across Hetch-Hetchy
Valley 100 feet at the bottom, 760 feet at the top and 300 feet high.
This will cover 1930 acres of land with water and extend the water back
between seven and eight miles and one and one-half miles wide at the
widest point. It is also proposed to build a dam 150 feet high and 1500
feet long at Lake Eleanor. This will flood 1443 acres. The Hetch-Hetchy
dam and reservoir will supply in dry seasons 250 gallons a day per capita
for 1,000,000 people. Colonel John Biddle of the Board of Army Engineers
estimated the cost of the Hetch-Hetchy supply at $77,000,000.
The final development will give to the command of San Francisco between
400 and 500 million gallons a day. The dams will be of massive masonry.
The water will be carried through cement-lined steel pressure pipes and
concrete lined tunnels ten feet in diameter, cut through the mountains of
the coast range. There will be about eighty-three miles of water tunnels.
Under the formation of water districts this water can be divided between
the two sides of the Bay and approximately 1,000,000 people can now
use it. At the upper end of the aqueduct will be two main power-houses
capable of developing 145,000 mechanical horse-power twenty-four hours
each day of the year.
The present plans of the city provide for its water needs as far ahead as
the year 2,000, when at the present rate of growth there will be over
3,000,000 people around the Bay, causing a necessity for 540,000,000
gallons of water daily.
(2) Before the House Committee in Washington, June, 1913, Colonel Biddle
testified that he had made a personal examination of every available
source of water for the city and in detail described the features of
each source, its advantages and disadvantages. Each one was considered
not merely as to benefits to San Francisco, but as to whether or not the
taking of water would be harmful to other sections now using it for other
than domestic purposes, especially for irrigation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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