10/11/2006   English German
  Edition # 63  
San Francisco, 10-11-2006

Hetch Hetchy" is a proper noun and does not require translation.

It refers to a valley, reservoir, and water system in the Sierra Nevada of California, USA.

Of course! Please provide the text you would like translated into English. Of course! Please provide the text you would like translated into English. Of course! Please provide the text you would like translated into English.

Michael We have often mentioned that it doesn't rain a drop in San Francisco from March to October. This raises the question: Where do the city and the surrounding areas get enough fresh water to survive?
Figure [1]: ... and the meadows are also a lush green ...

Everything that is green in San Francisco is watered in the summer. The palm trees on Dolores Street and the many green parks would be unthinkable without sprinkler systems. Areas that are not artificially irrigated, such as Bernal Heights Hill or the expansive Marin Headlands north of the Golden Gate Bridge, completely dry out and turn brown.

Figure [2]: ... but in the summer, everything that is not
artificially irrigated withers.>

Approximately 200 km east of San Francisco lies Yosemite National Park, an alpine-like landscape with great climbing opportunities, where the two intrepid newsletter reporters have also roamed. At the western end is the so-called Hetch Hetchy Valley. "Hetch Hetchy" refers to a type of grass with edible seeds in the language of the Sierra Miwok Indians who once lived there. After the earthquake in 1906, the city of San Francisco demanded water rights in the park to build a dam, flood the Hetch Hetchy Valley, and create a water reservoir.

The conservationists, led by John Muir, were up in arms. A seven-year legal battle ensued, and in the end, a federal court issued a decisive ruling in the "Raker Act." The O'Shaughnessy Dam was constructed, and the Tuolumne River, flowing into the valley, filled it to the brim with water. This precious water is delivered to San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area through a complex system of pipelines and tunnels. Website of theWaterworks The translation to English is: "you can see exactly how the whole thing works.

Figure [3]: Location of the
O'Shaughnessy Dam, which impounds water for San Francisco in Yosemite National Park.>

In the summer, the basin gradually empties, but the winter rain refills the reservoir. A few years ago, there wasn't much rain in the winter, and as a result, there was a water shortage in the summer. At that time, recommendations were issued to shower only once a day and to water the lawn only in the late evening.

RSS Feed
Mailing Liste
Impressum
Mike Schilli Monologues

Get announcements for new editions

New editions of this publication appear in somewhat random intervals. To receive a brief note when they're available in your mailbox (about once every two months on average), you can register your email on the 'usarundbrief' Google Groups list.

Your email address
All Editions:

 

Send us a comment
We'd like to hear from you, please send us feedback if you want to comment on the content or have suggestions for future topics.

Simply write your your message into the text box below. If you'd like a response from us, please also leave your email. If you want to stay anonymous, simply put 'anonymous' into the email field. This way we'll get the message, but we have no way to respond to you.

Your email address

Message
 
Contact the authors
Latest update: 27-Dec-2025