Friday night’s story on our campaign to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley, aired by CBS affiliate KPIX in the Bay Area, was exceptionally well done. Have a look.
Reporter Wilson Walker helped explain that there are viable water system improvements so no one need lose a drop of water. The piece also included many other important messages as well as some nice shots of Restore Hetch Hetchy’s office. (Walker also related, off camera, that he was surprised at the limited public access in a national park after impatient rangers hurried him out of the Hetch Hetchy area before the daily closure of the entrance gate.)
KPIX added a interview with Dr. Peter Gleick, MacArthur Fellow and President Emeritus of the Pacific Institute. Gleick predicted that restoration would take place, perhaps after a San Francisco politician steps forward. Gleick further noted San Francisco’s dearth of water recycling, especially in light of the substantial ongoing projects in southern California – an option Restore Hetch Hetchy included in Yosemite’s Opportunity (2022), along with groundwater recharge and local surface storage.
The San Francisco Chronicle also repackaged a recent story on San Francisco’s water system which, when all reservoirs are full, holds 7 years worth of water. Today’s story may be available only to subscribers, but the Feb 5 version is available to all.
The Chronicle quotes Peter Drekmeier, policy director at the Tuolumne River Trust, who criticizes the SFPUC’s preference for holding as much in storage as possible and releasing little for fish: “The SFPUC hoards water in dry years when they don’t need to. At the height of the recent drought, they still had at least four years in storage … and for the years they were hoarding water, the salmon-based ecosystem suffered.”
Restore Hetch Hetchy’s criticism of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is a bit different. We don’t judge them for being too conservative with their water supply. But we do want the SFPUC to invest in improvements they can be better environmental stewards and return Hetch Hetchy Valley to Yosemite National Park without compromising supply for their customers. As we and others have shown, it’s very doable.
