Restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley: The Role of Modeling in Policy

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union

Volume

87

Issue

42

Publication Date

2006

Keywords

Hetch Hetchy, restore, modeling

First Page

449

Last Page

451

Abstract

In 1923, following years of opposition and debate, the City of San Francisco, Calif., completed the O'Shaughnessy Dam, which flooded Hetch Hetchy Valley in California's Yosemite National Park. Today the future of Hetch Hetchy Valley is still debated.

Current discussion of restoring the valley has arisen within the state, and the idea of restoration has been largely supported by the use of system optimization and simulation modeling. Mathematical modeling provides thorough and systematic analysis of water supply systems and can suggest improvements to incorporate additional water uses or changing priorities. CALVIN (California Value Integrated Network),an economic-engineering optimization model, was one of two models used to evaluate the water supply and hydro-power implications of removing the O'Shaughnessy Dam [Null, 2003; Null and Lund, 2006].

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