Several thoughts on the whole Hetch Hetchy thing.
- Hetch Hetchy is almost 100 years old now. It was built at a time when there were no earthquake or building standards like today.
- Don Pedro holds more than enough water and generates quite a bit of electricity.
- The water wouldn’t also have to be pumped up and down the hills like it currently does from Hetch Hetchy.
- If SF took their water from Don Pedro it might actually be less-expensive than getting it from Hetch Hetchy so their utility bills might actually drop.
- O’Shaughnessy dam was built to meet the water needs of an early 1900’s industrial San Francisco, needs that are vastly different from today.
- As is normal for mountain geology, the floor of Hetch Hetchy valley may be full of sediment due to the sediment load carried by the Tuolumne river and contributing streams.
Your thoughts?