This dashboard is great! At this facility, which is shared with other water agencies, the city can stash water for credits against future draws on the river. And the current water storage amounts are well below the historical averages for this time of year. The tremendous inflow to city reservoirs during the recent storms, mostly in and around Yosemite National Park, has lifted San Franciscos total water storage to near capacity. System for more than 60 percent of their drinking water. the map graph doesnt include berryessa. Lake Mendocino and Lake Berryessa water levels stayed the same. Climbers Timmy O'Neill (left) and Lucho Rivera atop a wall overlooking Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Other California water agencies have done far more to reduce the impact of their system on Mono Lake, the Trinity and San Joaquin Rivers, and the Bay-Delta. Saved to my favorites now. 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. Map shows stunning improvement in California drought Thats a very poor design. 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. Copyright 2023Water Education Foundation. She is a University of Washington graduate. Charts from the California Department of Water Resources show conditions at key state reservoirs on Oct. 22 (left) and on Nov. 2 (right). 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. Also a little nit. It is on the graph. Find out more about the system at http://www.sfwater.org, BAWSCA Board Policy Committee Meeting, April 12, 2023 1:30pm. Due to its high-altitude location at 3,900 feet above sea level Meant this comment for the integrated snowpack and reservoir view. The Water Education Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, Then it has the appearance of something filling up, while still providing all the detail. 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. Maybe bad data. Hetch Hetchy today | Restore Hetch Hetchy As of Feb. 1, the systems total water storage was just over 1.3 million acre-feet, or about 92% of capacity. Article X, Section 2 that requires diversions for all water Are they releasing water to relieve the pressure in anticipation of more water? Emissions must be offset by dedicated conservation programs or renewable energy generation such as wind or solar. 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? From the main road, it's about a 20- to 25-minute drive to the parking area. Having it here would be great! SF's Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full. Is that a good thing? California reservoir levels: . }, 150); In another sign that Californias drought is easing, San Francisco captured more than a years worth of water in just one months time. Remaining Capacity text in the legend should be brown? 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). Call 209-372-0200 for the latest road and weather conditions, Hetch Hetchy Road Daily Hours: 8 am to 5 pm Thanks for developing it, and for sharing it with the rest of us! LK ELEANOR NR HETCH HETCHY CA - USGS Water Data for the Nation The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. Good info to know. San Franciscos Hetch Hetchy water system is almost full for the first time in years. Especially for small ones it is hard to identify them and click on them. Usually with warm ARs, you get a dramatic increase in inflow, which can fill even very large reservoirs relatively quickly, like Oroville in 2017. Hetch Hetchy water travels 160 miles via gravity from Yosemite to the San Francisco Bay Area. FYI it looks like Isabella is reading incorrectly, likely because its well above 100%. For perspective, water demand across the SFPUCs service area of 2.7 million people was about 205,000 acre-feet last fiscal year. So many facets beautifully chartered. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir - O'Shaugnessy Dam - National Park Service Absolutely zero reason to be releasing this much water from these reservoirs. 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. BAWSCA Board of Directors Meeting, March 16, 2023, 6:30 PM. This is my first year watching the levels, so maybe Im missing something. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The water is delivered by a gravity-based system and aqueduct to These sources are diverse in both the origin of the supply snowmelt, rainfall and recharge of groundwater and their location within our system. 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. reservoir violates the California Constitution specifically the Have you looked into that side of the water management equation? Your email address will not be published. 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. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. . Its supposed to be brown. Folsom Lake is letting the water flow out. Restore Hetch Hetchys subsequent appeal to the ruling was Great stuff. We own and operate the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System which serves 2.7 million customers. Great visualization Chris! I would think with the rain it would get to historical average and then more outflow would happen. The SFPUC has also raised concerns over the fishery benefits of the States Plan. City officials have touted their efforts to help salmon, for example by timing water releases to assist with migration and restoring breeding grounds. So included in DWR #S. https://engaging-data.com/ca-reservoir-level/ 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. located in a national park and it passed the Raker Act in 1913 to Maybe just acre/ft with ^ or down arrow. 1 covering up to $875 million and much of the rest coming from federal loans to water suppliers. Great URL. Within San Francisco, we manage water distribution in the City. Its water supply Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, in the Sierra Nevada is 80% full, . Your email address will not be published. Similar findings are described in theUC Davis studyRe-Assembling Hetch HetchyandUS Bureau of Reclamation study. I second that request. At the moment, I am not interested in the debate. lawsuit, saying Restore Hetch Hetchys arguments were preempted I was thinking that it would be interesting to compare inflows and outflows. An official website of the United States government. around the Bay Area rely on the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water All Rights Reserved. thanks. The area around Shasta has more volcanic soils that absorb rainfall than the Feather River drainage. This is wonderful information. Sierra Nevada snowpack at 93 percent of normal - The Mercury News Sierra Nevada - Water Education Foundation 2013, photo, the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is hazy with smoke . Curt, Good point re the colder weather dropping more snow instead of rain at higher elevations this year. Horoscope for Friday, 3/03/23 by Christopher Renstrom, No seriously, dont drive up to Tahoe this weekend, Wife of Jeffrey Vandergrift issues somber update, Snowboarder dies at Tahoe ski resort following historic blizzard, Scream publicity stunt floods Bay Area dispatch with 911 calls, The best fried chicken is at a San Francisco strip club, Rain reenters Bay Area forecast: Have an umbrella near you, The Warriors broke Russell Westbrook, just like old times, Mochi muffin bakery closes SF cafe after just 4 months, Arrest in killing of woman seen running through Tahoe campground, Oakland ransomware attackers leak 'confidential' data, California Department of Water Resources website, 14 things you need in your car before you drive to Tahoe. If you are on a mobile device you can tap the reservoir to get that same info. The current power produced by the SFPUC system, although not carbon-based, is not green since it requires the continued destruction of significant habitat. 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. Theyve also seen drought surcharges on their water bills. 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. SFPUC announces Hetch Hetchy reservoir at less than 65 percent capacity administration attempted to allocate funds to study removing the Thanks for taking the time to do that. Lake Shasta and Mendocino are also well below average. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. So its volume is counted as Orville inflow. 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. In the year prior to Oroville reaching capacity the interactive chart showed the rate of inflow over time. With modest additional investments San Francisco will be able to maintain an uninterrupted supply of high quality Tuolumne River water. 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. The data on water storage comes from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Data Exchange Center. Begin at O'Shaughnessy Dam. This almost happened with the Orville Dam in 2017. 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. Stay up-to-date with breaking news and upcoming events. An official website of the United States government. Last week, I paid a visit to Hetch Hetchy. Just trying to learn here Thanks so much! The adopted Plan addresses water quality issues affecting the ecosystem and fisheries of the Bay-Delta system. This dashboard provides a bit more detail on the state of each of the reservoirs while also showing an aggregate total. I hear from the farmers that we waste 80% of the water by flushing it into the ocean. I also hear the environmentalists say, the streams and wildlife need water, so flush it into the ocean. Its an interesting dilemma. The water travels through a series of pipelines before it reaches the Bay Area and blends with five local reservoirs. 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. Nice! 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. 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. San Francisco Should Pay Yosemite the Dam Rent - perc.org Thank you! The Bay Area's main reservoir is up 21 feet. Each row represents one reservoir, with bars showing how much of the reservoir is filled (blue) and unfilled (brown). San Francisco and the thousands of suburban . 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. 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. Jeff, the average changes daily as well. 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. Historical average is near unattainable these days. Different presidential administrations also have tried to address Meanwhile, the group Restore Hetch Hetchy is urging the SFPUC to abandon Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. looks like the CDEC website is the cause of the issue unless it actually dropped 90% in a day: According to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Hetch BAWSCA agencies advocated for the capital improvement program that was adopted by the SFPUC in 2002, and are actively monitoring its implementation. 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. Generation at Holm powerhouse below Cherry Lake would be less affected. This was helpful to project seasonal trends & storm impacts. 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. Great Job on this site! proposition that would have funded an $8 million study on how } globe.height = globe.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+40+"px"; Previously, Kellie covered dining news and trends, visual arts, events and nightlife for the Arizona Republic, and freelanced for the former Contra Costa Times. Our drinking water comes from a variety of protected sources carefully managed by the SFPUC. Is California's Drought Over? Here's What You Need To Know About Rain For each of the top 8 reservoirs the storage has increased by a total of 217 kaf, however). 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. Hetch Hetchy water travels 160 miles via gravity from Yosemite to the San Francisco Bay Area. Another not monitored by the State? Wapama Falls Trail | Yosemite National Park | Hikespeak.com The half-hour drive to Hetch Hetchy from CA Highway 120 begins outside the park boundaries. mandate within Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com, Yoohyun.Jung@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang, @yoohyun_jung. the city wastes water, so it was a moot issue. Reservoir levels rising. San Franciscos water system, which includes Hetchy Hetchy, is expected to fill this winter for the first time since 2019. She joined the Chronicle as a data reporter in 2021. 2022 All Rights Reserved. Shasta is the reservoir with the largest capacity and so it is the tallest row. For the first week of February, there was a slight increase for most reservoirs from January amounts. Very nice work. This site is a great tool, especially as we try to climb out of these drought years. But they'll cost you, Fight at high school basketball game in S.F. Im curious why the percentage of capacity has stayed almost flat for the past 6 weeks or so and below historical average. 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. Cherry Lk Nr Hetch Hetchy Ca | California Reservoir Levels - SNOFLO The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir that supplies San Francisco, seen here in February, is among those that have refilled after two months of storms. Add a button to convert the row heights to log scale. For the higher elevations, more of their water comes directly from snowmelt. "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. Although Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is the most well-known, it stores less than 25% of the system's water. Python is used to extract the data from this page hourly and wrangle the data in to a clean format. Water data back to 1956 are available online. The reservoir was at 75 percent capacity as of May 5, totaling 269,963 acre-feet of water (an acre-foot is nearly 326,000 gallons). Hetch Hetchy is only one of nine reservoirs in the San Francisco Public Utility Commissions water system. Here's what that means. provides water to 2.7 million residents and businesses in the San Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Curious why Shasta lake seems to be making big gains in water coming in and Trinity not so much? This hike follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. I have wanted to do exactly this plot for years. They are releasing water into the canals. 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. I am new to the state. 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. the Bay Area. I like the comparisons of last year, and the historical average. It does not meet the California definition of renewable energy. Bay Area: Do You Know Where Your Water Comes From? The citys water system also includes a water bank at Don Pedro Reservoir along the Tuolumne River, which was full as of Feb. 1. 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. 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. 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. Major snowstorm might leave you stranded, New 101 express lanes opens in Bay Area. You dont see runoff right away, the snow is still up there, frozen, doing what we want it to do, he said. California drought: Charts show where reservoir levels stand after a dry January, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area. The reservoir is now projected to cost $4.4 billion, with Prop. So on Jan 10 were at 82% of the average for Jan 10. I have to agree with many people here what a great job making such a clear graph of whats happening. Official websites use .gov The trail takes you to the base of Wapama Falls, passing two smaller waterfalls (during spring) on the way. Thanks. diversion of water? Restore Hetch Hetchy claimed the phrase had I see many of the local canals flowing with lots of water. Regional Watersheds | SFPUC 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. Similar to the water supply issues discussed above, the amount of power replacement is small in a statewide context less than of 1% of the renewable power supply being developed this decade alone. This other page: https . Water is rapidly flowing into the state's reservoirs. Its currently listed on this page as 29kaf full, but the usgs.gov page below says Hetch Hetchy is at 299.7kaf full. Reservoir behind OShaughnessy Dam does not require filtration. 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. Greetings from Mount Laurel New Jersey. Is that from melting snow and rain water coming from the mountains and filling it up? The surplus has renewed concerns about San Francisco stockpiling water at the expense of rivers and the fish and wildlife that live there. window.addEventListener("orientationchange", function() { https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/11275500/#parameterCode=00054&period=P7D. Before returning to the Bay Area, she held roles as transportation reporter and trending news reporter at the IndyStar in Indianapolis. "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. Lock a broad meaning that had been previously applied in an 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. Arg. California reservoir water levels before and after winter storm San Franciscos water-bank in Don Pedro Reservoir, downstream on the Tuolumne River, holds twice as much water as Hetch Hetchy. Should be fixed at some point. **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. DWR is one of many local, State and Federal entities that dictate water releases. function reloadiframes(){ 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS document.getElementById('globes').contentWindow.location.reload(); Crystal Springs Reservoir, along Highway 280 in San Mateo County, was 89 percent . An improvement: Could you include a bar for Last year at this date? It was at 60 percent as of March 1 and rising, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. and maybe another vertical axis to the right of that with reservoir capacity. There are no alerts at this time. Click here for the SFPUC's 2020State of the Regional Water System Report. 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. I find myself coming back to this every few days to check on our water . Monitoring location 11275500 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. Water System | SFPUC 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. And early forecasts show the rest of the wet season is not likely to produce enough precipitation. Could you also do the same for the Colorado River reservoirs to see how they are fairing? I wonder why it doesnt work for you. 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. word for a type of wild grass. construction in the 1920s, various groups have lobbied to restore More about the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement can be found athttp://www.tuolumnerivermanagementplan.com.