A key difference between restoring Hetch Hetchy and restoring the Bay Delta is the effect on water supply. Restoring Hetch Hetchy means relocating the reservoir but need not affect supply. Restoring the Bay Delta requires water to flow through the estuary so it cannot be used on cities and farms.
On March 29, the California Department of Natural Resources announced a landmark agreement to balance the water needs of cities and farms with those of the fish and wildlife (especially salmon) that rely on the Bay-Delta estuary and the rivers that feed it.
It is a big deal.
The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by State officials and a plethora of water agencies, is a voluntary agreement intended to replace the resolution to update the Bay-Delta Plan which the State Water Board authorized in December 2018.
Not everyone is content with the voluntary agreement. Environmental and fishing groups were not included in the negotiations, and many believe the plan does not provide the amount of water that fish need. And while some water agencies signed on, others did not – including the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and other agencies who reply on water diverted from the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers.
The voluntary agreement does not include as much additional flow for fish as the State Board’s 2018 resolution. The voluntary agreement does, however, include measures to improve riverine habitat (floodplains, spawning gravels etc.) that were absent in the State Board’s resolution (by law, the State Board is only authorized to regulate water flows).
So, the water agencies who signed the agreement have generally agreed to its effect on their supplies, whereas the agencies who have not signed are generally unhappy with how much water they may need to give up. Many environmental and fishing groups contend there will not be enough water to restore populations of native fish.
Notably absent from the officials signing the Memorandum of Understanding are representatives of San Francisco or the irrigation districts who use water from the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced Rivers. Environmental and fishing groups were also not represented.
Governor Newsom praised that plan, calling it a rejection of “old binaries”. Jared Blumenfeld, California’s environmental protection secretary said it would “move us away from ‘water wars’.” Wade Crowfoot, California’s natural resources secretary, added that voluntary agreements “hold promise to improve environmental conditions more quickly and holistically than regulatory requirements.”
Crowfoot’s point is well taken. The plan is likely to move forward, whereas implementing the State Board’s resolution would have resulted in piles of lawsuits and may have been delayed for many years.
Still, there will be lawsuits. For many, water policy in the Central Valley is a zero sum game – supplies are either diverted to cities and farms or allowed to flow naturally through the Bay-Delta estuary for environmental benefit. It is an either-or situation. Advocates of the two sides have been battling for decades and are not likely to stop now or anytime soon.
Restoring Hetch Hetchy is different.
Restore Hetch Hetchy has always insisted that San Francisco be kept whole with respect to its water supply. We urge San Francisco to pursue system improvements so Hetch Hetchy Reservoir can be relocated without any loss of water supply or electric power production.
Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley’s lost twin, can then be returned to its natural splendor; a majestic glacial-carved valley with towering cliffs and waterfalls where river and wildlife run free. Hetch Hetchy can be a new kind of national park, with limited development, an improved visitor experience, shared stewardship with native peoples, and permanent protection of its natural and cultural heritage for future generations.
And nobody need lose a drop of water.