Should NPS allow boating on Hetch Hetchy?

Grab your bear can or camp chair, kick your feet up and chew the fat about anything Sierra Nevada related that doesn't quite fit in any of the other forums. Within reason, (and the HST rules and guidelines) this is also an anything goes forum. Tell stories, discuss wilderness issues, music, or whatever else the High Sierra stirs up in your mind.
User avatar
rlown
Topix Docent
Posts: 8225
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:00 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Wilton, CA

Re: Should NPS allow boating on Hetch Hetchy?

Post by rlown »

By all means, allow boats.. Even private boats.
SF still needs to filter the water. Guess what everyone has done along the Tuolumne river for years. It all washes down.
I'd rather see the valley restored and even if it becomes Yose valley North, It would be better managed in that form.
Don Pedro is big enough to take the water; at least we get a valley back.
They can leave the dam and still allow water to be released after a bit of engineering.
User avatar
Desert Tortoise
Topix Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2019 1:24 pm
Experience: Level 1 Hiker

Re: Should NPS allow boating on Hetch Hetchy?

Post by Desert Tortoise »

Wandering Daisy wrote: Sun Sep 29, 2019 8:04 pm Hetch Hetchy was built before the downstream dams. The water went directly to San Francisco, and was not required to be treated, which saved SF money. As an untreated water source they did not want people swimming or boating in it. That rationale is now a moot point, because the water now goes through Don Pedro which does allow boating including motor boating. I do not know exactly when, but at some point, water treatment was required regardless of boating on Hetch Hetchy or not. Some reservoirs are privately owned and the owner can set their own rules. Don Pedro is a federally funded dam/reservoir. I believe Hetch Hetchy is still private (correct me if I am wrong).
No. The Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct passed beneath Don Pedro Reservoir with no connection to the lake. The water in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is delivered to Bay Area Customers directly from Hetch Hetchy through 150 somthing miles of tunnels and pipes including a pipe suspended on a bridge over SF Bay, with no filtration, just some chlorination. Don Pedro is owned by a regional irrigation district and is not part of the Hetch Hetchy system.
User avatar
Wandering Daisy
Topix Docent
Posts: 6640
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 8:19 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Fair Oaks CA (Sacramento area)
Contact:

Re: Should NPS allow boating on Hetch Hetchy?

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Thanks for that correction. It makes sense.
User avatar
SSSdave
Topix Addict
Posts: 3523
Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2005 11:18 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Silicon Valley
Contact:

Re: Should NPS allow boating on Hetch Hetchy?

Post by SSSdave »

Image
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 48 guests