The path to restoring Hetch Hetchy will be increasingly easier as San Francisco adapts its system for a future that includes both climate change and combining realistic levels of water from the Tuolumne River with other supplies. It starts by San Francisco understanding that its next water century will look nothing like the past. Last week’s court ruling may be a harbinger of such changes.
On March 15, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto ruled that the State Water Resources Control Board does indeed have authority to mandate improved river flows to benefit fish in Central Valley streams and in the Bay-Delta. (The San Francisco Chronicle article on the court ruling appears to be free – the Sacramento Bee article requires a subscription.)
The Bay-Delta Plan affects most water agencies in California. Our campaign to restore Hetch Hetchy affects only the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and its customers in selected Bay Area cities.
The ruling, which applies to a dozen lawsuits and some 116 complaints, is the latest salvo in California’s long-running “water wars”. It is certain to be appealed.
Presently, the ruling gives the State Board additional leverage in negotiations over “voluntary agreements”. Water agencies have offered complex programs that include some improved flows combined with improvements in flood plain habitat, replenishment of spawning gravels, scientific monitoring etc.
It is important to understand that the State Board has authority only to mandate improved flows. It has no authority to mandate other measures but it does have the power to accept alternative proposals such as the voluntary agreements. It is fair to say the Newsom administration is advocating that the State Board accept the voluntary agreements. Environmental and fishing advocates strongly believe that flows are the key to improved fisheries and many have rejected the voluntary agreements.
The ruling has no direct bearing on our campaign to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park – after all Hetch Hetchy Reservoir was authorized by (unprecedented) federal legislation. The ruling is, however, a warning shot, aimed at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and others, that old ways of doing business are changing.
Most urban water agencies across California have indeed changed by sharply reducing their reliance on diverting water from far away reservoirs. As we pointed out in Yosemite’s Opportunity (2022), the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, however, has changed little. While others have invested in recycling, groundwater and expanding local reservoirs, the SFPUC has resisted change.
Perhaps this latest court ruling will encourage the SFPUC to change willingly before change is thrust upon them. Such change will not only help fish downstream but can also make Yosemite National Park whole again by restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley.