hetch hetchy reservoir level percentage
Lake Mendocino, which has a capacity of 122,400 acre feet, saw the biggest boost from 17% of storage capacity in December to 35% in January. 7 days 30 days Lake Shasta and Mendocino are also well below average. Have you looked into that side of the water management equation? So its volume is counted as Orville inflow. With modest additional investments San Francisco will be able to maintain an uninterrupted supply of high quality Tuolumne River water. Thank you! resizeframe(); Yoohyun Jung is the Deputy Data Editor for The San Francisco Chronicle. Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made storage reservoir for storing imported water only. 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. Thanks for providing it for public information. We own and operate the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System which serves 2.7 million customers. Navigation and Navigable Waters 33.208.82 Hetch Hetchy, Cherry Valley, and Don Pedro Dams and Reservoirs. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NAVD 1988, LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929, and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. So my question is, How do we know if we are saving the water for later release (late summer) or are we releasing it to the ocean? I live close to Eastman Lake. The state's second-largest reservoir, Lake Oroville in Butte County, saw especially dramatic gains with a 30.4-foot rise in the water level and a 182,625-acre-foot increase in the total amount of water, data posted Tuesday from the California Department of Water Resources showed. If we reach 100% after the current rains and then it stops raining for the season, then our percentage will start going down. 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. Trailhead address: Evergreen Road (Hetch Hetchy Road), Yosemite National Park, CA 95321. Partly because of low water, the rivers chinook salmon runs have plummeted from tens of thousands of fish annually a few decades ago to fewer than 1,000 in recent years. O'Shaughnessy Dam is a 430-foot (131 m) high concrete arch-gravity dam in Tuolumne County, California, United States.It impounds the Tuolumne River, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, about 160 miles (260 km) east of San Francisco. Are they releasing water to relieve the pressure in anticipation of more water? Lock Congress had to approve the project because it was 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. I previously made a bar graph showing the overall level of water in the major California reservoirs. One of the big challenges in water management is controling the release. Its great seeing all the reservoirs in California at or near historical averages. 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. Its supposed to be brown. "In contrast, the Shasta Lake drainage had only a couple of stations in excess of 10 inches whereas most received less. Over the summer, Gov. Lake ShastaLevel before the storm on Oct. 22: 882.57 feetLevel after the storm on Nov. 1: 885.47 feetTotal rise: 2.9 feet, Storage before the storm: 970,859 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 1,001,879 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 31,020 acre-feet, Lake OrovilleLevel before the storm: 630.80 feetLevel after the storm: 661.20 feetTotal rise: 30.4 feet, Storage before the storm: 799,638 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 982,263 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 182,625 acre-feet, Hetch HetchyLevel before the storm: 3,729.68 feetLevel after the storm: 3,750.99 feetTotal rise: 21.31 feet, Storage before the storm: 221,500 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 257,800 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 36,300 acre-feet, Trinity LakeLevel before the storm: 2,209.55 feetLevel after the storm: 2,213.22 feetTotal rise: 3.67 feet, Storage before the storm: 648,675 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 672,930 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 24,255 acre-feet, Folsom LakeLevel before the storm: 370.28 feetLevel after the storm: 390.33 feetTotal rise: 20.05 feet, Storage before the storm: 214,225 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 318,577 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 104,352 acre-feet, New Melones LakeLevel before the storm: 916.28 feetLevel after the storm: 917.09 feetTotal rise: 0.81 feet, Storage before the storm: 822,619 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 827,786 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 5,167 acre-feet, Don PedroLevel before the storm: 723.96 feetLevel after the storm: 727.41 feetTotal rise: 3.45 feet, Storage before the storm: 970,226 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 995,836 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 25,610 acre-feet, McClureLevel before the storm: 663.70 feetLevel after the storm: 672.27 feetTotal rise: 8.4 feet, Storage before the storm: 180,900 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 198,467 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 17,210 acre-feet. That puts it at 84 percent of where it would usually be usually at this time of year. "This was rare for October. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. Important Legacy real-time page. May 24, 2022 - BAWSCA Statement About the Adoption of a Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11%. Prior to The Chronicle, she worked as a data journalist for Honolulu Civil Beat, a watchdog news organization covering the Hawaiian islands. After record snowfall in December was followed by a dry January, there are renewed concerns of drought. It was at 60 percent as of March 1 and rising, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. use must be reasonable.. Why is it not listed? 2013, photo, the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is hazy with smoke . Thanks for the prompt reply! earthquake. City officials have touted their efforts to help salmon, for example by timing water releases to assist with migration and restoring breeding grounds. All rights And more work is underway. }, 150); Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. The captured water is piped 150 miles to the Bay Area. 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. And the current water storage amounts are well below the historical averages for this time of year. Hours: Year-round, but only accessible by car when the Hetch Hetchy Road is open. I like the comparisons of last year, and the historical average. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. proposition that would have funded an $8 million study on how Data and Tools Hoping they start building more reservoirs soon. This is an excellent tool you have put together. Absolutely zero reason to be releasing this much water from these reservoirs. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate change, has become a sticking point in a longstanding environmental battle over how much water the city should be taking from rivers. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the As the system aged, especially in an era of heightened safety awareness following the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 and drought in the 1990s, it became evident that the system required a complete overhaul. Only improvement I would suggest is an improvement of the display of the smaller reservoirs so the names are readable. Saved to my favorites now. Thanks. This is a very clear graph and I cannot imagine the hours you have put in while setting it up and doing the maintenance. The main reason for the discrepancy, the department said, is that the focus of the atmospheric river was generally between the Golden Gate and Mount Lassen, meaning that the Feather River watershed received much more rainfall than the Shasta Lake drainage area. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. More about the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement can be found athttp://www.tuolumnerivermanagementplan.com. The windfall of water is welcome news for households and businesses in San Francisco, which use less water on average compared to the rest of the state but nonetheless have faced calls to cut back since 2021 because of water shortages. http://www.tuolumnerivermanagementplan.com. Its promising, but too early to let our guard down, said Joseph Sweiss, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the citys water purveyor, in an email to The Chronicle. The OShaughnessy Dam i s 300 feet tall only medium-sized by todays standards. For most of the year it will still be possible to divert the flow of the Tuolumne River into the pipeline just downstream of the National Park boundary. What happened to the Hetch Hetchy level? Remember, much of the state is still in a drought and so the prudence is warranted.. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander. San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full for the first time in years. 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. The proportion of blue to brown will show how full it is, while the red line shows the historical level that reservoir is typically at for this date of the water year. BAWSCA agencies advocated for the capital improvement program that was adopted by the SFPUC in 2002, and are actively monitoring its implementation. The only improvement I would ask you to consider is to allow the Y-axis to be Linear or Log, the latter allowing us to see all the small reservoirs quite easily. Its essential to understand that the dispute over San Franciscos use of Hetch Hetchy is not about the use of water only how it is stored. Occasionally the source water will shift to local reservoirs during routine maintenance to the conveyance system. **new combined California reservoir and snowpack visualizer**, made a bar graph showing the overall level of water in the major California reservoirs, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Data Exchange Center. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS What period does CA use for Historical Average? It will be very different depending on the period chosen. At times, nearly 90% of the flow of the Tuolumne River is piped off by the SFPUC and other water agencies in the region. 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. I wonder why it doesnt work for you. For perspective, water demand across the SFPUCs service area of 2.7 million people was about 205,000 acre-feet last fiscal year. Its not possible to see or really interact with the tiniest slivers. The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, Most local reservoir inflow timeseries are too short to calculate long-term values. Previously, Kellie covered dining news and trends, visual arts, events and nightlife for the Arizona Republic, and freelanced for the former Contra Costa Times. I had a class in spillway design many years ago. Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. YTD values are from January 1 . "Soils that have become hydrophobic due to wildfire can also contribute to increased runoff because the water is less able to penetrate the burned soil," the department said. generates electricity for the city). Ive been meaning to search for aquifer levels. The area around Shasta has more volcanic soils that absorb rainfall than the Feather River drainage. since it required flooding a You dont see runoff right away, the snow is still up there, frozen, doing what we want it to do, he said. While constructed and owned by San Francisco, the water system was in fact planned to benefit the greater San Francisco Bay Area population. Monitoring location 11277200 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. The middle portion of the watershed from New Don Pedro Reservoir to above Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is characterized by deep canyons and forested terrain. 95 percent of. Nice! ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 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. Great work. Theyve also seen drought surcharges on their water bills. That cant be right. Current as of October 03, 2022 | Updated by . It was my first time using D3 and it took me a long time to get up to speed. Hetch-Hetchy predicted to fill by end of the snowmelt period 2020-2021 Winter season continues to be dry 2019-2020 was dry, although key differences Feb. 2020 was unusually warm, which impacted snowfall levels and water demands; Feb 2021 was cooler, and hence snowfall level higher and water use lower by the Raker Act. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Subscribe to receive email notifications of new content. They are draining it currently so that it can serve as that overflow if needed given how much rain is coming down and expected over the next week. Our reservoirs were alarmingly low. The 1913 Raker Act authorized the unprecedented dam inside the park and also set the fee that the city pays to rent the entire valley in which the dam sits: $30,000 per year. currently, there is a lot more water coming in than going out. The valley is administration attempted to allocate funds to study removing the Hetch Hetchy Water System The system originates more than 100 miles from its primary customers, in Yosemite National Park. The water is delivered by a gravity-based system and aqueduct to Francisco Public Utilities Commissions 26 wholesale customers Great stuff. Could the reason be that the water from Lake Alma or seems to be used for energy generation, and that there does not seem to be any agricultural or urban use? The surplus has renewed concerns about San Francisco stockpiling water at the expense of rivers and the fish and wildlife that live there. Love the dashboard! Hetch Hetchy is only one of nine reservoirs in the San Francisco Public Utility Commissions water system. All of this work is nothing short of brilliant. The blue line indicates the reservoirs water level one year ago today. If you are reading this, its probably the winter rainy season in California again, and time to check on the status of the water in the California reservoirs. I will take a look and see if there are other important reservoirs missing and may add them in the future. Francisco Bay Area. Usually with warm ARs, you get a dramatic increase in inflow, which can fill even very large reservoirs relatively quickly, like Oroville in 2017. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the The SFPUC has also raised concerns over the fishery benefits of the States Plan. setTimeout(function (){ the map graph doesnt include berryessa. But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. Also, do they provide inflows and outflows for locations? LK ELEANOR NR HETCH HETCHY CA. environmental context. San Francisco maintained the phrase only the city wastes water, so it was a moot issue. the Bay Area. While the rainfall has been bad for many people, I am happy to see Californias reservoirs are benefiting slightly, Amen! Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite was 69 percent full on Tuesday, 150 percent of normal for this time of year. For detailed analysis of how San Franciscos water system will operate without Hetch Hetchy reservoir, see the Environmental Defense Funds studiesParadise RegainedandCherry Intertie Alternative. How come the totals disagree with the cal map graphic? I recently joined the team with Restore Hetch Hetchy as Engagement & Development Director. Especially for small ones it is hard to identify them and click on them. This site is a great tool, especially as we try to climb out of these drought years. So included in DWR #S. Even with the latest precipitation, Folsoms values was unchanged. You can find the charts below from the California Department of Water Resources website. That said, most of its outflow makes its way down Feather River (via Rock Creek Reservoir) and ultimately into Orville. in 2018. The reservoir is now projected to cost $4.4 billion, with Prop. Lake Mendocino and Lake Berryessa water levels stayed the same. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. San Francisco's water-bank in Don Pedro Reservoir, downstream on the Tuolumne River, holds twice as much water as Hetch Hetchy. By a large measure, damming and flooding Hetch Hetchy is the most significant damage ever allowed in any of our national parks. Instructions: . The upcountry portion of the System begins with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. Here's what that means. How Much Water is in California Reservoirs? In 2007, the Bush 1 covering up to $875 million and much of the rest coming from federal loans to water suppliers. These sources are diverse in both the origin of the supply snowmelt, rainfall and recharge of groundwater and their location within our system. It could be the 180% of historical average of snowpack, which will be melting in a couple months. Next feature request: wire in aquifer level data! 1 kaf is the amount of water that would cover 1 acre in one thousand feet of water (or 1000 acres in water in 1 foot of water). As it is, at first glance, it looks like shasta is at the top because its 28000 instead of 4552. very nice product overall. With how we can now basically pinpoint future precipitation amounts at least a month in advance, no reason to not let these reservoirs fill up past historic averages for this date. It used to be full (and beyond). Located within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, the reservoir saw a sizable 21.31-foot bump in its water level and gained 36,300 acre-feet, according to Tuesday data from the U.S. Geological Survey. This is a marimekko (or mekko) graph which may take some time to understand if you arent used to seeing them. The adopted Plan addresses water quality issues affecting the ecosystem and fisheries of the Bay-Delta system. So on Jan 10 were at 82% of the average for Jan 10. Water storage facilities include watersheds, dams, and reservoirs including: Calaveras, San Antonio, Crystal Springs, Pilarcitos, and San Andreas. Thats a very poor design. word for a type of wild grass. Wife of missing Bay Area radio host says Jeffrey Vandergrift will not Sen. Dianne Feinstein is hospitalized in San Francisco with shingles, California extends deadline to file 2022 income taxes to match IRS decision, Here's where California reservoir levels stand after this week's rains, Going to Tahoe this weekend? Kellie has held many leadership roles for the Asian American Journalists Association, including most recently a board member for the San Francisco chapter. California Reservoir Levels - Dashboard and visualization showing current water levels in California reservoirs . Lots of possibilities, just curious. Different presidential administrations also have tried to address March 12 - The Perks of California Native Wildflowers, March 28 - Rainwater Harvesting and Rain Gardens, April 01 - Lawn Conversion to Native and Drought-Tolerant Plants. Best of luck out there in California! 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). I second that request. Find out more about the system at http://www.sfwater.org, BAWSCA Board Policy Committee Meeting, April 12, 2023 1:30pm. Steve Ritchie, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's assistant general manager for water, said the additional water amounted to roughly 11% of the reservoir's total capacity. Is it because the laws have changed on how much each reservoir can hold or is it in anticipation of significantly more rain? looks like the CDEC website is the cause of the issue unless it actually dropped 90% in a day: Is that a good thing? Very nice work. An improvement: Could you include a bar for Last year at this date? Having it here would be great! The gain came after weather gauges in the area recorded more than 5 inches from one storm. 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%. The upcountry portion of the System begins with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. drained by the Tuolumne The Bay Area's main reservoir is up 21 feet. I believe the spillway was designed by the State. While the long-term voluntary agreement work continues, the SFPUC does not want to wait to restore the Tuolumne Rivers ecosystem. 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. How can I apply to SFPUC? 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. Thinking more about it. SFGATE took a look at reservoir levels three days after the Oct. 24 storm and below we take another look, examining water level rises and storage increases at a broader range of reservoirs roughly a week after the atmospheric river event. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Restore Hetch Hetchy supports a power replacement plan that is truly renewable, and will not increase emissions of any pollutants or carbon that causes global warming. Gavin Newsom asked all California residents to voluntarily reduce use by 15% compared with use in 2019. Im curious why the percentage of capacity has stayed almost flat for the past 6 weeks or so and below historical average. So while that is kind of good news, he said, things start to look more grim after January produced paltry rainfall and, so far, February has also been dry. Restore Hetch Hetchy. The trail includes spectacular views of Tueeulala and Wapama Falls. John Muir and the November 10, 2022 - BAWSCA Statement on State Water-Policy Officials, SFPUC, and Districts Sign MOU for Tuolumne River to Help Recover Salmon While Protecting Water Reliability. It takes a fair amount of work to make graphs compared to other more plug-and-play libraries but its very customizable, which is a plus. dam and restoring the valley. At the same time, theyve also said its critical to maintain sufficient water supplies to keep Bay Area communities and its economy running during a prolonged drought. Data have been checked by the reporting agency. Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. This dashboard is great! This hike follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. Assistant General Manager for Water Steven Ritchie credits the way the system is managed along with lower. In another sign that Californias drought is easing, San Francisco captured more than a years worth of water in just one months time. McClintock bill proposes to improve public access at Hetch Hetchy. Just trying to learn here Thanks so much! Remaining Capacity text in the legend should be brown? The Bay Area portion of the System includes water collection, treatment, and transmission facilities from the Alameda East Portal to the wholesale service area and terminal reservoirs in San Francisco. The amount stored is increasing, just not by a lot.