Hetch Hetchy Reservoir on the Tuolumne River.

ALERTS - Bay Area

Stop San Francisco's plan to take more water from the Tuolumne

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) wants to take 25 million gallons a day MORE water from the Tuolumne River by the year 2030. That amount of water would cover 28,000 football fields with a foot of water!

This water grab is part of a $4.3 billion program that was sold to bond voters as a seismic safety program, but is now burdened with expansion projects that can harm the Tuolumne.

Attention: Bay Area Residents
In order to pay for this program, water rates in San Francisco are projected to double by 2010 and triple by 2020, and will increase significantly in other Bay Area cities as well.

This financial burden is being placed on you, so speak out and demand that San Francisco spends your dollars in a way that protects and restores the Tuolumne River.

Help protect the Tuolumne River
What you can do today —

Write a letter to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom urging him to protect and restore the Tuolumne River and not divert more water from the Tuolumne!

You can copy (and paste into your word-processing program) any of our pre-written, customizable messages - be sure to include why the Tuolumne is special to you. You can also click here for a printable version of the letter (in pdf format). Letters can be sent via email to staff@tuolumne.org or mailed to:

Tuolumne River Trust
Fort Mason Center, Building C
San Francisco, CA 94123

The Trust will personally deliver your letter to Mayor Newsom at the most effective time.

Mayor Gavin Newsom
City of San Francisco

Dear Mayor Newsom:

I strongly encourage you to protect and restore the Tuolumne River as part of the city's water system plan.

The Hetch Hetchy Water System is clearly in need of repair and earthquake safety retrofitting, but the Public Utilities Commission does NOT need to take more water from the Tuolumne to ensure water quality and reliability for San Francisco and its customers. You can achieve these goals by making San Francisco and its customers a model of water conservation, efficiency and recycling.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has done much more for water conservation and recycling that the Bay Area. If San Francisco and other Bay Area water districts invested in water conservation first, they would need less water from the Tuolumne.

I urge you to be a good steward of the Tuolumne River ecosystem. San Francisco should also commit to funding a program to protect and improve the Tuolumne River watershed, including land acquisition, in-stream fish and wildlife habitat enhancement and recreation improvement projects.

Please guarantee that healthy amounts of water will continue to flow into the Tuolumne River, an irreplaceable natural wonder.

Sincerely,

Your Name and Address