the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state. function resizeframe(){
) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The advocacy group Restore Hetch Hetchy took its case for . I know this might be difficult to display but Im very curious on the actual amounts of water consumed on a monthly basis and if this is somehow processed in a certain between what is agricultural and what is non-commercial etc? Congressman Tom McClintock has re-introduced theYosemite National Park Equal Access and Fairness Act, a bill that would allow non-motorized Sign up to receive blog posts and other news by email. Additionally, the bounty helps the more than two dozen communities in Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties that get their water from the city. You can sort the mekko graph by size largest at the top to smallest at the bottom or by reservoir location, from north to south. Maybe just acre/ft with ^ or down arrow. For example, the average storage level for Feb. 7 is usually 65% of capacity for Trinity Dam, but currently its at 31%. That said, most of its outflow makes its way down Feather River (via Rock Creek Reservoir) and ultimately into Orville. I have wanted to do exactly this plot for years. The Department of Water Resources, which manages the state's water supply, said in a statement that there are several possible reasons for the difference in inflow amounts between the two reservoirs. Even with the latest precipitation, Folsoms values was unchanged. Occasionally the source water will shift to local reservoirs during routine maintenance to the conveyance system. California boosts water deliveries to highest level in years, thanks to storms, California reservoir levels: Charts show water supply across the state, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area. Add a button to convert the row heights to log scale. She is a University of Washington graduate. And early forecasts show the rest of the wet season is not likely to produce enough precipitation. Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. has a graph which shows how the historical avg changes throughout the year (oscillating between ~15000 and ~21000). In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies. Lake Shasta, the state's largest reservoir, rose 2.9 feet and added 31,020 acre-feet of water. Lake Shasta and Mendocino are also well below average. Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System The Hetch Hetchy watershed, an area located in Yosemite National Park, is the major source of water for all of San Francisco's water needs. The recent spate of storms lifted the statewide snowpack to 190% of average for the start of the month, and more snow is on the way. FYI it looks like Isabella is reading incorrectly, likely because its well above 100%. If you look at this chart for Hetch Hetchy, you can see that the biggest and steadiest rise is between March and July, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/11275500/#parameterCode=00054&period=P365D&compare=true. Is the Stanley Quencher tumbler worth its TikTok hype? You can email her at
[email protected]. Near the town of La Grange, the river exits the Sierra Nevada foothills and flows through a gently sloping alluvial valley that is incised into Pleistocene alluvial fans. Maintaining this variety of sources is an important component of our near and long-term water supply management strategy. the city wastes water, so it was a moot issue. At the beginning of this water year, which started on October 1, 2022, the state's largest water reservoir, Lake Shasta, was a third full, at 33 percent. Sometimes this is well done sometimes it is poorly done. Excellent graphic! In addition, San Francisco receives approximately one-tenth of its power from hydroelectricity generated by the gravity-driven flow from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park is seen in 2022. Yep. Over the summer, Gov. The water system, which includes the landmark Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, is expected to fill this winter, for the first time since 2019, with nearly 1.5 million acre-feet of water. use must be reasonable.. For perspective, water demand across the SFPUCs service area of 2.7 million people was about 205,000 acre-feet last fiscal year. The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, The Bay Area transmission system also includes Irvington Tunnel 1 and Tunnel 2, the Bay Tunnel, and the Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel. There doesnt seem to be any site that shows the impact of each storm. Our reservoirs were alarmingly low. The source water from SFPUC is typically from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A diverse mix of sources protects us from potential disruptions due to emergencies or natural disasters, provides resiliency during periods of drought, and helps us ensure a long-term, sustainable water supply as we address issues such as climate uncertainty, regulatory changes and population growth. over the past few days. How Much Water is in California Reservoirs? proposition that would have funded an $8 million study on how word for a type of wild grass. https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=HTH How do I pay my bill? Current as of October 03, 2022 | Updated by . mandate within This is a marimekko (or mekko) graph which may take some time to understand if you arent used to seeing them. Monitoring location 11275500 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. Reservoir behind OShaughnessy Dam does not require filtration. Yes, and why is Twitchell Dam also not listed? The problem is that we have no idea of knowing ahead of time what kind of storms well have and how long theyll last, but the reservoir operators have to be super careful and extra cautious, so they periodically let the water flow out. But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. The remaining 15 percent of water comes from runoff in the Alameda and Peninsula watersheds. YTD values are from January 1 . Kudos to the designers. Maybe bad data. The north (side of the reservoir) usually has two waterfalls going at the best of times, but youll see up and down the canyon walls, if you look close, you count there are about 12 waterfalls running now, said Steve Ritchie, the SFPUCs assistant general manager of water enterprise, during a recent drought report to the agencys governing board. I noticed that Folsom does not change whereas every reservoir changes on an hourly update. Ill pass it along to friends. Interesting. Having it here would be great! pertained to water that was wasted, and there was no claim that These sources are diverse in both the origin of the supply snowmelt, rainfall and recharge of groundwater and their location within our system. Reservoir Report 4,670 ft -0.02% today 100% of normal Normal Water lake or reservoir water surface elevation above ngvd 1929, ft at Cherry Lk Nr Hetch Hetchy Ca is currently 4,670 ft, approximately 100% of normal. https://engaging-data.com/ca-reservoir-level/ The new 68-mile (109 km) railroad wound its way up the narrow canyon of the Tuolumne River past sharp curves and up steep 4% grades. After record snowfall in December was followed by a dry January, there are renewed concerns of drought. There are no alerts at this time. Historical average is near unattainable these days. But I would never have imagined how to put all the important information into a single plot. This is also affected by most of these dams multi-purpose nature where they are near constantly releasing for power(like Shasta) or to make room for flood control capacity(like Folsom). I was thinking that it would be interesting to compare inflows and outflows. Thanks for putting this together. Current and Historical Visualization, https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=HTH, https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/QueryDaily?s=SHA, https://engaging-data.com/ca-reservoir-level/, https://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=RES, Visualizing Californias Water Storage Reservoirs and Snowpack, Interactive California Reservoir Levels Dashboard. Trailhead coordinates: 37.946905, -119.787376 (37 56 48.85N 119 47 14.55W) . Great work. Remember, much of the state is still in a drought and so the prudence is warranted.. All rights We own and operate the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System which serves 2.7 million customers. globe = document.getElementById('mekko');
Arg. draining the reservoir to court, arguing in 2015 that the If you click on the list button in the top right of the dashboard, it will show a list of the reservoirs (in order of size from largest to smallest) and you can check which ones you would like to display. This local water is captured in reservoirs located in San Mateo and Alameda counties. 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.. What period does CA use for Historical Average? It will be very different depending on the period chosen. Therefore flood control agencies take the more conservative route and order the release of water. His recent work has examined the impacts of drought, threats to public lands and wildlife, and the nation's widening rural-urban divide. Thank you so much for the hard work! Thanks for taking the time to do that. The recent spate of storms lifted the statewide snowpack to 190% of average for the start of the month, and more snow is on the way. That includes the Tuolumne River, which provides water via Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to Bay Area customers. I realize there we dont want to reservoirs overflowing, but why are we still below historical average? A different story is unfolding at Hetch Hetchy reservoir in Yosemite National Park, where water is being released to conserve and restore wildlife. Its water supply Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, in the Sierra Nevada is 80% full, the ground is saturated and near-record rainfall has occurred in recent days. He frequently writes about water, wildfire, climate and the American West. This site is a great tool, especially as we try to climb out of these drought years. The water treatment facilities are Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, disinfecting the Hetch Hetchy supply; Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant, treating the water from the Calaveras and San Antonio supply as well as the stored Hetch Hetchy supply; and Harry Tracy Water Treatment Plant, treating the water from the Crystal Springs and San Andreas supply. Flood control agencies (not DWR) have the most say in regard to releases. Lake Almanor isnt controlled by DWR for flood/supply. This other page: https . Reservoir levels rising. As it is, at first glance, it looks like shasta is at the top because its 28000 instead of 4552. very nice product overall. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. These sources include surface water stored in reservoirs located in the Sierra Nevada, Alameda County and San Mateo County, and groundwater supplies stored in a deep aquifer located in San Francisco and San Mateo counties. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The SFPUC has consistently stated that voluntary agreements are the best path forward for the Bay-Delta, as the voluntary agreement strikes the right balance between environmental stewardship and water reliability. Thanks for developing it, and for sharing it with the rest of us! Hi Keith, you could de-select the large reservoirs from the menu at the top right. Trinity Lake, with a capacity of 2,447,650 acre-feet, had the smallest increase, from 29% in December to 30% in January. Department of Water Resources is just another in a long line of completely mismanaged California entities. I am grateful for all that you have done here to open our eyes to what is happening, what has happened, and even what might be on the horizon. Hetch Hetchy Water System The system originates more than 100 miles from its primary customers, in Yosemite National Park. and its snowmelt-fed water supply, water from Hetch Hetchy San Francisco will be in great shape going into 2023, said Spreck Rosekrans, executive director of Restore Hetch Hetchy Its unfortunate that too little is being done with these flows to recharge groundwater basins to help cities and farms and even restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley., Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Meanwhile, the group Restore Hetch Hetchy is urging the SFPUC to abandon Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Commission. May 24, 2022 - BAWSCA Statement About the Adoption of a Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11%. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Is it because the laws have changed on how much each reservoir can hold or is it in anticipation of significantly more rain? proposed as a source of water following the 1906 San Francisco For the higher elevations, more of their water comes directly from snowmelt. Water is such a fascinating topic and Id hate to have to be a water manager making a decision on how much to release to avoid reservoir flooding. The OShaughnessy Dam, which was completed in 1938 and is 430-feet tall, impounds water in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for communities in the Bay Area. A small portion of the citys water comes from local reservoirs. generates electricity for the city). This website along with another shows that Eastmans level is still rising even though we have not had rain in more than a week. They placed a few dissipators just before the river. administration attempted to allocate funds to study removing the As of 5pm on 1/18, the data appears correct (~58k acre feet), but an hour ago it was reading off the chart (3X above what they are allowed to store right now). Restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley will allow all three power plants to remain operational but will reduce power generation at these by about 20% an average of about 350 million kWh per year. So its volume is counted as Orville inflow. More about the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement can be found athttp://www.tuolumnerivermanagementplan.com. Climbers Timmy O'Neill (left) and Lucho Rivera atop a wall overlooking Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. lawsuit, saying Restore Hetch Hetchys arguments were preempted Much of the recent inflow was to Hetch Hetchy, which can hold about 360,000 acre-feet of water and was 83% full at the start of the month. A dry January with little rainfall across much of Northern California actually didnt hurt the states water storage levels, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. Rizzardo said there was a decent amount of flow into the reservoirs into January, even though weather-wise it was bone dry, a result of lower elevation snow at 4,000 to 6,000 feet making its way into the reservoirs. Its currently listed on this page as 29kaf full, but the usgs.gov page below says Hetch Hetchy is at 299.7kaf full. SFPUC said as of this week, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir is at 92 percent capacity. Eighty-five percent of the water comes from Sierra Nevada snowmelt stored in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir situated on the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. not passed until 1928 five years after the dam was built. The surplus has renewed concerns about San Francisco stockpiling water at the expense of rivers and the fish and wildlife that live there. Northern California's reservoir levels continued to rise in the week after an atmospheric river slammed the state with torrential rain and high winds. Take CA Highway 120 from the park toward Groveland. What rates am I paying? Official websites use .gov "This was rare for October. Important Legacy real-time page. Isabella is filling quite slowly in order to test out the new $500 million spillway. In 2016, a Tuolumne County Superior Court judge dismissed the Good info to know. Not only does it supply 85 percent of the water for 2.6 million people in San Francisco, controlled releases via the O'Shaughnessy Dam are helping preserve downstream specieseven in dry . If you are experiencing a water, power, or sewer emergency or service problem call our 24-hour hotline at 3-1-1 or (415) 701-2311 from outside SF or log on at, Public Notices and Public Meeting Notices, Customer Assistance Program - Water/Wastewater, Customer Assistance Program - Hetch Hetchy Power, Hetch Hetchy Power Medical Necessity Assitance Program, Hot Water Recirculation Pump Rebate Program, San Francisco's Urban Watersheds Overview, Free Phone Consultations, Evaluations and Devices, Games Puzzles Virtual Backgrounds Overview, Get your Free 2023 Pollution Prevention Calendar, Construction & Contracts Overview Overview, Contract Opportunities and Payments Overview, Project Review and Land Use - Hetch Hetchy Water and Power, Project Review and Land Use - San Francisco, Sewer System Improvement Program Overview, Water Infrastructure Improvements Overview, Boards, Commissions and Committees Overview, Internships, Apprenticeships and Youth Employment, Public Notices and Public Meeting Notices Overview, Audited Financial Statements & Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports, SFPUC Preliminary Public Power Options Report, Civic Center Sustainable Utilities District Plan, Resolution Condemning Systemic Racism & Taking Action to Promote Racial Justice. Water data back to 1930 are available online. It can take several days to see the full impact on reservoirs as water continues to run through watersheds and into streams in the days after a storm. Sacramento CA 95833, Everything about California water that matters, Western States Water Agencies and Districts. By a large measure, damming and flooding Hetch Hetchy is the most significant damage ever allowed in any of our national parks. Thats a very poor design. A wet December produced ample snowfall, which is still sitting at high elevations. 9 of 12 10 of 12 Hetch Hetchy Reservoir with Wapama Falls near Groveland, Calif. on Wednesday March 12, 2014, is currently at fifty percent of capacity. At this facility, which is shared with other water agencies, the city can stash water for credits against future draws on the river. Omar, Thanks! Check out my **new combined California reservoir and snowpack visualizer** to compare to historical values, as well asthe California precipitation tracker and California snowpack visualizer. The water is delivered by a gravity-based system and aqueduct to Exclusive: Stunning photos show Yosemite National Park under 15 feet of Warriors treating Andrew Wiggins with understandable patience, but his California snowpack hits highest level this century for March, could Map shows which parts of California exceeded entire years worth of rain, Map shows stunning improvement in California drought, Last chance to see: Bay Bridge lights turn off on Sunday. sends student to hospital, Heres how much rain and snow is on the way this weekend, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). If we reach 100% after the current rains and then it stops raining for the season, then our percentage will start going down. Locked padlock Compared to the historical snowpack for this time of year, the May 2021 survey shows that we are only 2 to 5 percent of normal. For some strange unknown reason, they are not allowing the lake to fill up. Usually with warm ARs, you get a dramatic increase in inflow, which can fill even very large reservoirs relatively quickly, like Oroville in 2017. You can find the charts below from the California Department of Water Resources website. Assistant General Manager for Water Steven Ritchie credits the way the system is managed along with lower. . The area around Shasta has more volcanic soils that absorb rainfall than the Feather River drainage. The Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which supplies water for San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area, was at 77% of its 360,000-acre-feet storage capacity in January compared to 73% in December, and on Feb. 7, it was up to 82%. rejected by an appellate court and the California Supreme Court . The height of the row indicates how much water the reservoir could hold. Call 209-372-0200 for the latest road and weather conditions, Hetch Hetchy Road Daily Hours: 8 am to 5 pm You can also share a custom URL by clicking the Save URL button which will put the custom URL into the URL bar of your browser which you can then copy and share. Folsom is like an overflow tank. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir that supplies San Francisco, seen here in February, is among those that have refilled after two months of storms. United States. But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. For perspective, water demand across the SFPUC's service area of 2.7 million people was about 205,000 acre-feet last fiscal year. We provide water directly to customers in San Francisco and wholesale through 26 Water agencies in Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties. Since June 2011, the Water Enterprise has operated the Citys Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS, formerly known as the Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS)), an independent, high-pressure water supply system for fire suppression. The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. Emissions must be offset by dedicated conservation programs or renewable energy generation such as wind or solar. Id only be interested in the totals from Oroville and Shasta. Los Angeles,Orange CountyandSan Josehave developed ambitious water recycling programs and have vastly improved local groundwater management. Hoping they start building more reservoirs soon. I would think with the rain it would get to historical average and then more outflow would happen. They are releasing water into the canals. One of the big challenges in water management is controling the release.
David Rizzardo, hydrology section manager for the California Department of Water Resources, said there are a lot of factors that affect reservoir storage. The snowpack there, which will eventually melt and flow into reservoirs, is already bigger than the average peak snowpack, which typically comes around April 1. The overall storage is said to have dropped by 57.4 to 56.4 (or 302 kaf). Another not monitored by the State? Click here for the SFPUC's 2020State of the Regional Water System Report. Its not possible to see or really interact with the tiniest slivers. Delivery rates are 7-day average values. The valley is
But it has flooded nine miles of a glacier-carved valley and blocks access to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne and other nearby areas. I find myself coming back to this every few days to check on our water . The group says the recent plethora of water shows that the city could do without Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, by using other storage facilities that have filled and pursuing new projects to capture the surplus. For example, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park provides 85 percent of San Francisco's total water needs. An improvement: Could you include a bar for Last year at this date? The SFPUC gets the bulk of its water from a network of reservoirs in the central Sierra Nevada that have long altered flows of the Tuolumne River and its tributaries. The cities, water districts and private utilities represented by the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) rely upon the Hetch Hetchy system for water to protect the health, safety and economic well being of 1.8 million citizens, businesses and community organizations. finding an alternative water and power source (Hetchy Hetchy also This system encompasses more than 1,250 miles of distribution pipelines, as well as 12 in-City reservoirs and eight water tanks with a total storage capacity of approximately 413 million gallons. Lots of possibilities, just curious. and maybe another vertical axis to the right of that with reservoir capacity. Visualization was done in javascript and specifically the D3.js visualization library. For detailed analysis of how San Franciscos water system will operate without Hetch Hetchy reservoir, see the Environmental Defense Funds studiesParadise RegainedandCherry Intertie Alternative. The amount stored is increasing, just not by a lot. Constitution used to support the arguments to remove the dam was Last week, I paid a visit to Hetch Hetchy. I previously made a bar graph showing the overall level of water in the major California reservoirs. Forty-six percent . I believe the spillway was designed by the State. Thinking more about it. A dry January with little rainfall across much of Northern California actually didnt hurt the states water storage levels, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. Stay up-to-date with breaking news and upcoming events. That cant be right. While it may seem that Decembers production could get us through the rest of the season, Rizzardo explains that in hydrology, you need consistent water shed to keep soils happy. He fears that without more precipitation this season, well enter our third very dry year. To reach Hetch Hetchy, you have to exit Yosemite National Park and re-enter it. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. The blue line indicates the reservoirs water level one year ago today. Lock It wont be full until Spring snowmelt. This is wonderful information. Curt, Good point re the colder weather dropping more snow instead of rain at higher elevations this year. The reservoir is now projected to cost $4.4 billion, with Prop. This chart only shows reservoirs filled via natural flow/rainfall. Long-term values for reservoir inflows use maximum number of complete water years in record. In response to the Bay-Delta Plan, the SFPUC and the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts have proposed the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement, a combination of flow and non-flow measures sufficient to improve all life-stages of native fish populations in the lower Tuolumne River.