I think the problem is with the CDEC database (as the LakesOnline website also has had incorrectly high information). Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. Long-term values for reservoir inflows use maximum number of complete water years in record. 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). Lots of possibilities, just curious. That puts it at 84 percent of where it would usually be usually at this time of year. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir that supplies San Francisco, seen here in February, is among those that have refilled after two months of storms. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. 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. the Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state. Water System | SFPUC 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. She was previously an engagement reporter. This November, a group of environmental advocates will put forth a ballot measure that would require the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to develop a plan to drain 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. San Francisco operates three medium-sized hydro-electric power plants in the Tuolumne River watershed Kirkwood, Moccasin, and Holm. And while one storm didn't come close to ending the drought, some reservoirs in Northern California, especially those that fell right in the path of the storm, saw significant gains. What happened to the Hetch Hetchy level? Just a wistful thought, it would be really cool to graph the water release statistics. 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. I would turn this graph, 90 counterclockwise, and start the capacity along the bottom axis from left to right, with the biggest reservoirs on the left and the smaller ones on the right. 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. How Much Water is in California Reservoirs? At the moment, I am not interested in the debate. For some strange unknown reason, they are not allowing the lake to fill up. Love the dashboard! All rights Didnt realize how bad things were there. This dashboard provides a bit more detail on the state of each of the reservoirs while also showing an aggregate total. 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. San Franciscos water-bank in Don Pedro Reservoir, downstream on the Tuolumne River, holds twice as much water as Hetch Hetchy. But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. http://www.tuolumnerivermanagementplan.com. Yoohyun Jung is the Deputy Data Editor for The San Francisco Chronicle. I previously made a bar graph showing the overall level of water in the major California reservoirs. 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). Hetch Hetchy is only one of nine reservoirs in the San Francisco Public Utility Commission's water system. 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. He frequently writes about water, wildfire, climate and the American West. hetch hetchy reservoir level percentage - Examiner It looks like the red and blue lines are backwards on Folsom. This is the best one out there. They placed a few dissipators just before the river. 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. For each of the top 8 reservoirs the storage has increased by a total of 217 kaf, however). May 24, 2022 - BAWSCA Statement About the Adoption of a Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11%. This other page: 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. The reservoir is eight miles long and the largest single body of water in Yosemite. Copyright 2023Water Education Foundation. Your tools are awesome just hurts when you receive bad data at times! One of the big challenges in water management is controling the release. All of this work is nothing short of brilliant. That includes the Tuolumne River, which provides water via Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to Bay Area customers. Love this. dam and restoring the valley. Regional Watersheds | SFPUC To reach Hetch Hetchy, you have to exit Yosemite National Park and re-enter it. 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. Part of the lake is on the California side, but it has zero California water impact beyond the immediate Tahoe residents. Its currently listed on this page as 29kaf full, but the usgs.gov page below says Hetch Hetchy is at 299.7kaf full. 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. One of the most impressive was Hetch Hetchy, which provides drinking water to 2.6 million people in San Francisco and other Bay Area communities. The soaking was welcome in a drought-plagued state with a diminishing water supply. 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. The construction of the Hetch Hetchy Railroad took place from 1915 to 1918. Its supposed to be brown. The cities of Burlingame, Hayward, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Redwood City and San Mateo, along with the Alameda County Water District, were among Bay Area communities whose support was influential in persuading Congress to pass the controversial Act, and President Woodrow Wilson to sign it. Despite Record Drought, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Levels At 92 Percent 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. Located in the northwest portion of Yosemite National Park, Hetch The question was, what constitutes unreasonable method of 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. 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. For example, the average storage level for Feb. 7 is usually 65% of capacity for Trinity Dam, but currently its at 31%. 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. Reservoir levels rising. PDF Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System Water Supply and Delivery Status - SFPUC The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, https://engaging-data.com/ca-reservoir-level/ These sources are diverse in both the origin of the supply snowmelt, rainfall and recharge of groundwater and their location within our system. It used to be full (and beyond). Monitoring location 11277200 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. I would think with the rain it would get to historical average and then more outflow would happen. A wet December produced ample snowfall, which is still sitting at high elevations. Visualization was done in javascript and specifically the D3.js visualization library. use must be reasonable.. Hetch Hetchy System - BAWSCA administration attempted to allocate funds to study removing the 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. Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. The worst possible scenario is it just remains completely dry. The data on water storage comes from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Data Exchange Center. 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. 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. "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. California drought: Charts show where reservoir levels stand after a Is California's Drought Over? Here's What You Need To Know About Rain Getting There. Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System, which serves San Francisco, proposition that would have funded an $8 million study on how Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. Charts from the California Department of Water Resources show conditions at key state reservoirs on Oct. 22 (left) and on Nov. 2 (right). Your email address will not be published. Ive looked at reservoir sights for years. 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. 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. Thanks for developing it, and for sharing it with the rest of us! Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. . This is the first state (of 6 I have lived in) that has had water police and restrictions. setTimeout(function (){ His recent work has examined the impacts of drought, threats to public lands and wildlife, and the nation's widening rural-urban divide. 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 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.. finding an alternative water and power source (Hetchy Hetchy also Units are in kaf, thousands of acre feet. How come the totals disagree with the cal map graphic? I realize there we dont want to reservoirs overflowing, but why are we still below historical average? thanks. For the higher elevations, more of their water comes directly from snowmelt. . 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. 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. The remaining 15 percent of water comes from runoff in the Alameda and Peninsula watersheds. I find myself coming back to this every few days to check on our water . Hetch Hetchy is one of nine reserviors in a water system that serves San Francisco and other Bay Area communities. Call 209-372-0200 for the latest road and weather conditions, Hetch Hetchy Road Daily Hours: 8 am to 5 pm Data and Tools San Francisco maintained the phrase only Owned by the city of San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir I like the comparisons of last year, and the historical average. 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. ", The difference in soil type in the two watersheds was likely another factor. If a reservoir gets filled to 100% and more, the dam will break and many cities will get flooded, so the operators are careful. 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. Its important to note that other communities in California have taken actions in far greater magnitude than SF to make our waterways more sustainable. "It is unknown how much area of the Feather River and Shasta Lake drainages are impacted by hydrophobic soils.". An improvement: Could you include a bar for Last year at this date? Interesting. In whats known as the Bay-Delta Plan, state water regulators are amid a years-long effort to negotiate a policy for how much water should be kept in rivers that flow to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to meet the needs of both people and wildlife. Hi Keith, you could de-select the large reservoirs from the menu at the top right. I would like to make one small suggestion:. How Fast Are California Reservoirs Filling Up? The water is delivered by a gravity-based system and aqueduct to Most local reservoir inflow timeseries are too short to calculate long-term values. These graphs will always read low because they represent the percentage of the seasonal average at some point before the end of the season. Thanks for taking the time to do that. How much NorCal reservoirs shot up a week after big storm - SFGATE Water data back to 1930 are available online. Hetch Hetchy today | Restore Hetch Hetchy required on whether to demolish OShaughnessy Dam. Restoring Hetch Hetchy will require some changes in how San Francisco moves and stores water. and its snowmelt-fed water supply, water from Hetch Hetchy Thats a great suggestion and one that would be particularly helpful! 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. City officials have touted their efforts to help salmon, for example by timing water releases to assist with migration and restoring breeding grounds. not passed until 1928 five years after the dam was built. If you look at the inflow data on the major reservoirs, its pretty flat. 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. In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies. Its water supply Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, in the Sierra Nevada is 80% full, . San Francisco Should Pay Yosemite the Dam Rent - perc.org Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Shasta is very large and could hold about 3.5 cubic kilometers of water at full (but not flood) capacity. Its fluctuating between ~107% and ~20% from one hour to the next (reading 107.6 atm). 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. 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. Thank you! reservoir violates the California Constitution specifically the The upcountry portion of the System begins with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. 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 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. Is that from melting snow and rain water coming from the mountains and filling it up? Great graphs and very useful. Thanks. Californias largest water agencies, in both the urban and agricultural sectors, have invested in ambitious groundwater banking programs inKern County. Kellie Hwang is the newsletter editor for The San Francisco Chronicle. Why isnt Lake Sonoma included? It would be really interesting to visualize whether were able to replenish ground water this year after all the precipitation. Day Hikes in Hetch Hetchy - National Park Service California reservoir water levels before and after winter storm I believe the spillway was designed by the State. It didnt end the drought, but it was definitely really good," said Ritchie. Fish and Wildlife Service that provides an immediate $4 million investment for habitat improvements for fisheries in the Tuolumne River. How can I match up other monitoring locations similar to the ones on this Interactive Dashboard? Saved to my favorites now. Crystal Springs Reservoir, along Highway 280 in San Mateo County, was 89 percent . Hetch Hetchy water travels 160 miles via gravity from Yosemite to the San Francisco Bay Area. 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. 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. It was at 60 percent as of March 1 and rising, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. Great URL. Department of Water Resources is just another in a long line of completely mismanaged California entities. She joined the Chronicle as a data reporter in 2021. Folsom is like an overflow tank. United States. For the class we based all our designs on the USACE spillway design manual. The name Hetch Hetchy is derived from a Sierra Miwok A lock ( I live in the central valley. James Q. Martin / Restore Hetch Hetchy Show More Show Less 4 of 7 The surplus has renewed concerns about San Francisco stockpiling water at the expense of rivers and the fish and wildlife that live there. Thats just another very strong indication visually that its a big water year.. Generation at the Kirkwood power plant would depend on the natural flow of the Tuolumne River, and would be significantly diminished during late summer and fall. There doesnt seem to be any site that shows the impact of each storm. 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. CFR Title 33. Navigation and Navigable Waters 33 CFR 208.82 | FindLaw rejected by an appellate court and the California Supreme Court Our drinking water comes from a variety of protected sources carefully managed by the SFPUC. Hetch Hetchy Water System The system originates more than 100 miles from its primary customers, in Yosemite National Park. San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full for the first time in years. A small portion of the citys water comes from local reservoirs. But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. Ive been meaning to search for aquifer levels. Copyright Barry Rokeach, 2014. Im curious: Lk Almanor is the 8th largest reservoir in CA. Over the summer, Gov. California Reservoir Levels - Dashboard and visualization showing current water levels in California reservoirs . Historical average is near unattainable these days. This is an excellent tool you have put together. Folsom Lake is letting the water flow out. currently, there is a lot more water coming in than going out. Prior to The Chronicle, she worked as a data journalist for Honolulu Civil Beat, a watchdog news organization covering the Hawaiian islands. A lock ( 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. The captured water is piped 150 miles to the Bay Area. diversion of water? Restore Hetch Hetchy claimed the phrase had The Hetch Hetchy Valley today with the dam seen in the lower right. Lake Almanor isnt controlled by DWR for flood/supply. Take CA Highway 120 from the park toward Groveland. What happened to the Hetch Hetchy level? So many facets beautifully chartered. Lake Shasta and Mendocino are also well below average. Great stuff. around the Bay Area rely on the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water Kurtis Alexander is an enterprise reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle, with a focus on natural resources and the environment. Especially for small ones it is hard to identify them and click on them. 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. Great work. Thanks. "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. by the Raker Act. What's taking so long to build a California reservoir? - CalMatters