Chinook salmon in the Tuolumne.

MEDIA CENTER - Press

SF Pipeline could slow to a trickle
Source: Modesto Bee
Editorial
April 13, 2005

The Tuolumne River Regional Park is an ambitious, important vision for the future of Modesto, Ceres and the entire area. It includes bike trails, fishing access, wildlife enhancements, a wonderful amphimeadow for large gatherings, picnic sites, traffic improvements and excellent access from downtown Modesto.

At its heart will be the Tuolumne River, a shimmering emerald band wrapped around this "urban oasis" like a ribbon. Or, the river could be a something less: a puddled, shallow shadow of itself with little life and no appeal.

The key to creating an urban river park — such as the Truckee River Walk in Reno; the Paseo del Rio in San Antonio; Waterfront Park in Portland, Ore., or Confluence Park in Colorado Springs, Colo. — is the river itself. Each of those cities took a nearly forgotten river, transformed its setting by creating beautiful parks around it, and in the process transformed the city.

There are plans to start moving dirt on the critical "Gateway Parcel" within the year, beginning our region's transformation. Yet, just as we draw within reach of this wonderful reality, a new threat looms.

American Rivers, a 30-year-old organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing our nation's waterways, says in a report released today that the Tuolumne is the eighth most endangered river in America. Last year's list included the Colorado, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers.

The danger to the Tuolumne, says American Rivers, comes from San Francisco.

Three years ago, San Franciscans passed a bond measure to raise $3.7 billion for improvements to the Hetch Hetchy water system. Included is a plan to build a fourth pipeline capable of carrying water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park to 29 Bay Area cities and the 2.4 million people who live in them.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission pumps at least 235 million gallons of Tuolumne River water a day to the Bay Area through three pipelines that run through the valley, then over the coastal mountains. San Francisco has long insisted it is entitled to 400 million gallons a day based on calculations spelled out in the 1913 Raker Act. It has never taken anything near that much because the pipelines couldn't handle it.

Officials of the city's PUC say emphatically they have no plans to take more water. They say the fourth pipeline is needed so the other three lines can be maintained and as a hedge against earthquake damage. We do not doubt their rationale or sincerity.

But groups such as the Tuolumne Trust and American Rivers are highly skeptical. They would prefer to have in writing guarantees of enough water to maintain critical habitat.

"The city's attorneys will not let them put those assurances in writing because that would be seen as an abdication of water rights," said Jenna Olsen, executive director of the Tuolumne Trust. "These current (SFPUC executives) may have all the best intentions, and we believe that they do, but what happens when they leave? … You don't build a superhighway and not use it."

The Trust is focused on the 52 miles of the lower Tuolumne, from Don Pedro Dam to the river's confluence with the San Joaquin. Without the trust's efforts over the past 20 years, the Tuolumne's summer flows would be greatly reduced and there would be far less life in and around the river. The trust believes it would be disastrous for San Francisco to take up to 70 percent more water than it now siphons out of the river.

We agree. While we believe the assurances of SFPUC's executives, the building of a fourth pipeline makes us nervous. Among other casualties of a reduced Tuolumne would be the wonderful park stretching from Ceres through Modesto.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called water from Hetch Hetchy the "birthright" of every San Franciscan. The people of Stanislaus County were using the Tuolumne's water for 75 years before San Francisco ever tasted a drop. The Tuolumne is not only our birthright; it is our lifeblood. We will not allow this life-giving river to become a drainage ditch.