Restoring Hetch Hetchy will require some changes in how San Francisco moves and stores water. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Generation at Holm powerhouse below Cherry Lake would be less affected. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. The captured water is piped 150 miles to the Bay Area. Water data back to 1930 are available online. Nate, thanks for the insight. in 2018. California Reservoir Levels - Dashboard and visualization showing current water levels in California reservoirs . Isabella is filling quite slowly in order to test out the new $500 million spillway. Voters rejected a 2012 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. Could you also do the same for the Colorado River reservoirs to see how they are fairing? LK ELEANOR NR HETCH HETCHY CA. 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%. 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. I dont know if weve seen anything like this in October before.". 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. Hi Keith, you could de-select the large reservoirs from the menu at the top right. earthquake. From the main road, it's about a 20- to 25-minute drive to the parking area. 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). Kellie Hwang is the newsletter editor for The San Francisco Chronicle. Kudos to the designers. This dashboard provides a bit more detail on the state of each of the reservoirs while also showing an aggregate total. The remaining 15 percent of water comes from runoff in the Alameda and Peninsula watersheds. The question was, what constitutes unreasonable method of BAWSCA Board of Directors Meeting, March 16, 2023, 6:30 PM. Over the summer, Gov. McClintock bill proposes to improve public access at Hetch Hetchy. This local water is captured in reservoirs located in San Mateo and Alameda counties. I second that request. Great work. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. rejected by an appellate court and the California Supreme Court 2013, photo, the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is hazy with smoke . The information on Isabella has been fluctuating drastically (by a factor of 10!) All of this work is nothing short of brilliant. I see many of the local canals flowing with lots of water. Begin at O'Shaughnessy Dam. 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, Going to Tahoe this weekend? Copyright Barry Rokeach, 2014. The middle portion of the watershed from New Don Pedro Reservoir to above Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is characterized by deep canyons and forested terrain. "It's an increase of a few percent, . Thanks for putting this together. Californias snowpack slips below average after dismally dry January, renewing concerns about drought, Busting water limits wont cost you in Marin County: Penalties canceled as rain fills reservoirs, California snowpack hits highest level this century for March. The citys water system also includes a water bank at Don Pedro Reservoir along the Tuolumne River, which was full as of Feb. 1. It used to be full (and beyond). It could be the 180% of historical average of snowpack, which will be melting in a couple months. This chart only shows reservoirs filled via natural flow/rainfall. Hetch Hetchy is the only reservoir above its average storage of 63%, and is 82% full. Id only be interested in the totals from Oroville and Shasta. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Echoing the sentiments of famed naturalist John Muir, members say the glacially-carved Hetch Hetchy Valley that the reservoir sits in is comparable in grandeur to Yosemite Valley and should not be flooded. San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full for the first time in years.
Several cities and water agencies that are now part of BAWSCA urged Congress to pass the Raker Act in 1913, the law that allowed federal lands in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, including Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, to be used to build the water system. The name Hetch Hetchy is derived from a Sierra Miwok Yes, and why is Twitchell Dam also not listed? 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. According to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir can store as much as 117 billion gallons for the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which serves San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. the map graph doesnt include berryessa. The main goal of this visualization is to provide a quick overview of the status of the main reservoirs in the state and how they compare to historical levels. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the Love the dashboard! Some want the city to leave more water in stream channels for threatened salmon while others continue a longshot bid to shut down Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite altogether and return the area to its natural state. We provide water directly to customers in San Francisco and wholesale through 26 Water agencies in Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties. Its not possible to see or really interact with the tiniest slivers. California reservoir levels: . Great Job on this site! The surplus has renewed concerns about San Francisco stockpiling water at the expense of rivers and the fish and wildlife that live there. This is my first year watching the levels, so maybe Im missing something. 7 days 30 days During the winter months, they let water out of the reservoirs in anticipation of large storms. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite delivers water to 2.6 million Bay Area residents every day. Francisco Bay Area. globe = document.getElementById('mekko');
This is the best one out there. Really appreciate the work you did to build this graph. Data have been checked by the reporting agency. As of Feb. 1, the systems total water storage was just over 1.3 million acre-feet, or about 92% of capacity. Lake Oroville. Reservoir levels rising. It would be really interesting to visualize whether were able to replenish ground water this year after all the precipitation. Northern California's reservoir levels continued to rise in the week after an atmospheric river slammed the state with torrential rain and high winds. These sources are diverse in both the origin of the supply snowmelt, rainfall and recharge of groundwater and their location within our system. His recent work has examined the impacts of drought, threats to public lands and wildlife, and the nation's widening rural-urban divide. 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. According to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Hetch Monitoring location 11277200 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. Saved to my favorites now. Also a little nit. http://www.tuolumnerivermanagementplan.com. Hetchy refers to a valley in the Sierra Nevada and a reservoir that Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. One of the big challenges in water management is controling the release. The worst possible scenario is it just remains completely dry. The water travels through a series of pipelines before it reaches the Bay Area and blends with five local reservoirs. Upcountry and the Bay Area. Privacy Policy | 2011-2021 San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Is that a good thing? The amount stored is increasing, just not by a lot. Reservoir behind OShaughnessy Dam does not require filtration. Hoping they start building more reservoirs soon. supplies water to the San Francisco Bay Area. however, Ill update the code to include it soon. Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Im curious why the percentage of capacity has stayed almost flat for the past 6 weeks or so and below historical average. 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. There doesnt seem to be any site that shows the impact of each storm. over the past few days. Water data back to 1956 are available online. A truly excellent project. Sierra Club unsuccessfully fought the reservoirs establishment The SFPUC has voiced concerns with the Plan, as it would dramatically reduce the agencys water supply, leaving it subject to significant rationing in droughts and more extreme weather conditions brought on by climate change. That includes the Tuolumne River, which provides water via Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to Bay Area customers. San Francisco voters have demonstrated their opposition to He frequently writes about water, wildfire, climate and the American West. reserved. Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Article X, Section 2 that requires diversions for all water The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. Usually with warm ARs, you get a dramatic increase in inflow, which can fill even very large reservoirs relatively quickly, like Oroville in 2017. Current as of October 03, 2022 | Updated by . A lock ( Turn right on to Hetch Hetchy Road - Evergreen Road and continue another 7.5 miles to the parking area for Hetchy Hetchy Reservoir next to the dam. The Bay Area transmission system also includes Irvington Tunnel 1 and Tunnel 2, the Bay Tunnel, and the Crystal Springs Bypass Tunnel. How do I contact support? I think the problem is with the CDEC database (as the LakesOnline website also has had incorrectly high information). Thanks for the prompt reply! 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. A separate vote would have been Locked padlock Thanks. Hetch Hetchy Level before the storm: 3,729.68 feet Level after the storm: 3,750.99 feet Total rise: 21.31 feet Storage before the storm: 221,500 acre-feet Storage after the storm: 257,800. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. California snowpack hits highest level this century for March. This is a marimekko (or mekko) graph which may take some time to understand if you arent used to seeing them. Best of luck out there in California! I also added the ability to select specific reservoirs to display on the graph and share a custom URL which will point those selected reservoirs (click on list button on top right of dashboard). 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. Emissions must be offset by dedicated conservation programs or renewable energy generation such as wind or solar. San Francisco operates three medium-sized hydro-electric power plants in the Tuolumne River watershed Kirkwood, Moccasin, and Holm. Locked padlock That puts it at 84 percent of where it would usually be usually at this time of year. Impounded by O'Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water passes through hydroelectric powerhouses before it enters the San Joaquin Pipelines, the Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, and the Coast Range Tunnel on its journey to the Bay Area. They placed a few dissipators just before the river. SFPUC said as of this week, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir is at 92 percent capacity. Trailhead address: Evergreen Road (Hetch Hetchy Road), Yosemite National Park, CA 95321. Assistant General Manager for Water Steven Ritchie credits the way the system is managed along with lower. 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. Impounded by OShaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir water passes through hydroelectric powerhouses before it enters the San Joaquin Pipelines, the Tesla Ultraviolet Treatment Facility, and the Coast Range Tunnel on its journey to the Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which serves San Francisco, "This was rare for October. This is of particular interest as the self-imposed restrictions deadline is approaching and the federal government may have to step in and mandate restrictions across the 7 states, including California. 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. Our flagship blog features analysis of news from our staff and announcements of upcoming events. Diamond Valley Lake is a man-made storage reservoir for storing imported water only. }, false); Lake Tahoe really isnt part of California water, as the outflow goes to Nevada. This dashboard is great! City officials have touted their efforts to help salmon, for example by timing water releases to assist with migration and restoring breeding grounds. Congress had to approve the project because it was 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. Ive looked at reservoir sights for years. finding an alternative water and power source (Hetchy Hetchy also Why isnt Lake Sonoma included? 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. This is the first state (of 6 I have lived in) that has had water police and restrictions. generates electricity for the city). I dont think its currently above the historical average, not below 1 year ago. It was my first time using D3 and it took me a long time to get up to speed. not passed until 1928 five years after the dam was built. A wet December produced ample snowfall, which is still sitting at high elevations. Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. For perspective, water demand across the SFPUC's service area of 2.7 million people was about 205,000 acre-feet last fiscal year. Quite an eye opener. If you are on a computer, you can hover your cursor over a reservoir and the dashboard at the top will provide information about that individual reservoir. But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. Lake Almanor isnt controlled by DWR for flood/supply. Hetch Hetchy is only one of nine reservoirs in the San Francisco Public Utility Commission's water system. Thanks for the link. This hike follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. And the current water storage amounts are well below the historical averages for this time of year. For the higher elevations, more of their water comes directly from snowmelt. Charts from the California Department of Water Resources show conditions at key state reservoirs on Oct. 22 (left) and on Nov. 2 (right). Commission. She has been with SFGATE for more than 10 years. Due to its high-altitude location at 3,900 feet above sea level it will be cool if there is a way to track the change since Dec or some such date. . diversion of water? Restore Hetch Hetchy claimed the phrase had Long-term values for reservoir inflows use maximum number of complete water years in record. Read more about the data team and their work. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park can store up to 117 billion gallons of drinking water that is used for the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System that provides water for 2.6 . For some strange unknown reason, they are not allowing the lake to fill up. In the year prior to Oroville reaching capacity the interactive chart showed the rate of inflow over time. Monitoring location 11275500 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. 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. For example, the average storage level for Feb. 7 is usually 65% of capacity for Trinity Dam, but currently its at 31%. May 24, 2022 - BAWSCA Statement About the Adoption of a Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11%. You can find the charts below from the California Department of Water Resources website. Although Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is the most well-known, it stores less than 25% of the system's water. San Francisco and the thousands of suburban . pertained to water that was wasted, and there was no claim that 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 . The construction of the Hetch Hetchy Railroad took place from 1915 to 1918. reloadiframes();
Even with the latest precipitation, Folsoms values was unchanged. Its currently listed on this page as 29kaf full, but the usgs.gov page below says Hetch Hetchy is at 299.7kaf full. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Subscribe to receive email notifications of new content. function resizeframe(){
If a reservoir gets filled to 100% and more, the dam will break and many cities will get flooded, so the operators are careful. "It is unknown how much area of the Feather River and Shasta Lake drainages are impacted by hydrophobic soils.". John Muir and the The source water from SFPUC is typically from the Hetch Hetchy reservoir located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As it is, at first glance, it looks like shasta is at the top because its 28000 instead of 4552. very nice product overall. Folsom Lake is letting the water flow out. The data on water storage comes from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Data Exchange Center. Is that from melting snow and rain water coming from the mountains and filling it up? I would like to make one small suggestion:. There are many very small reservoirs (relative to Shasta) so the bars will be very thin to the point where they are barely a sliver or may not even show up. In another sign that Californias drought is easing, San Francisco captured more than a years worth of water in just one months time. CHERRY LK NR HETCH HETCHY CA Important Legacy real-time page Monitoring location 11277200 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. Shasta is very large and could hold about 3.5 cubic kilometers of water at full (but not flood) capacity. BAWSCA agencies also are implementing water conservation and water recycling projects to help preserve this precious resource for their communities, and are working to identify alternate sources of water supply. The height of the row indicates how much water the reservoir could hold. If we reach 100% after the current rains and then it stops raining for the season, then our percentage will start going down. For detailed analysis of how San Franciscos water system will operate without Hetch Hetchy reservoir, see the Environmental Defense Funds studiesParadise RegainedandCherry Intertie Alternative. Thats a very poor design. At the moment, I am not interested in the debate. Major snowstorm might leave you stranded, New 101 express lanes opens in Bay Area. Are they releasing water to relieve the pressure in anticipation of more water? For each of the top 8 reservoirs the storage has increased by a total of 217 kaf, however). There is something strange about the data over the last two days (Jan.17 to Jan. 19): 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. 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. Thank you so much for the hard work! drained by the Tuolumne The Mokolumne River, which originates in the high Sierra, provides more than 90 percent of the East Bay's water and the Owens Valley in the eastern Sierra serves as a key source of water for Los Angeles. Click here for the SFPUC's 2020State of the Regional Water System Report. What rates am I paying? 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. Hi, I started by using this page (https://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=RES) to determine which reservoirs to include and for some reason Almanor isnt on the list. Before returning to the Bay Area, she held roles as transportation reporter and trending news reporter at the IndyStar in Indianapolis. What period does CA use for Historical Average? It will be very different depending on the period chosen. Each row represents one reservoir, with bars showing how much of the reservoir is filled (blue) and unfilled (brown). The overall storage is said to have dropped by 57.4 to 56.4 (or 302 kaf). mobilewarn();
Lake Shasta, the state's largest reservoir, rose 2.9 feet and added 31,020 acre-feet of water. All rights the issue, including those under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, I find myself coming back to this every few days to check on our water . "Some weather monitoring stations in the Feather River drainage received as much as 12 to 19 inches during the period of the storms," the department said. Visualization was done in javascript and specifically the D3.js visualization library. by the Raker Act. 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. Much of the water passing through Holm would be diverted into the Mountain Tunnel and be used to generate power a second time at the Moccasin powerhouse. These graphs will always read low because they represent the percentage of the seasonal average at some point before the end of the season. Stay up-to-date with breaking news and upcoming events. Climbers Timmy O'Neill (left) and Lucho Rivera atop a wall overlooking Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. This other page: Constitution used to support the arguments to remove the dam was Department of Water Resources is just another in a long line of completely mismanaged California entities. 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).