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John Muir with hiking stick overlooking Merced River in Yosemite San Francisco filed for the Hetch Hetchy project in Yosemite in 1901. John Muir fought bitterly, but unsuccess- fully, to save the Tuolumne River from being dammed. 8 CALIFORNIA WATER The San Francisco Bay Area The City of San Francisco Before the gold rush of 1849, the San Francisco Bay Area obtained its water supplies from nearby springs and streams. During the rapid population growth of the gold rush days, San Francisco suf- fered its first water shortage, and water was brought by barge across San Francisco Bay from Sausalito and distributed from wag- ons. Imported water was first brought to San Francisco through a series of flumes and tunnels that were constructed by the San Francisco Water Works Company between the City and Lobos Creek. This system was completed in 1857. Local water supplies were fully developed by 1890, by which time four reservoirs had been con- structed on the peninsula. San Francisco then turned to Alameda Creek for further supplies.10 San Francisco residents eventually became dissatisfied with the service of the San Francisco Water Works Company, and, in the charter of 1901, an autborization was included for a municipally owned water system. Pursuant to this authorization, available sources of supply outside the San Francisco Bay Area were investi- gated. The Tuolumne River, which flowed through the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, was chosen as the best source. The first plan for the Hetch Hetchy project, drawn in 1882, showed a canal from the mountains to San Francisco, and the United States Geological Survey recommended using Hetch Hetchy as a water source in 1891. Although chosen for the purity of its water and its freedom from contamination, as well as its proximity to San Fran- cisco, because Hetch Hetchy was located within Yosemite National Park, federal government approval was required for its use. In 1901, the city filed for a reservoir and right-of-way within Yosemite, but this application was denied by the Secretary of the Interior in 1903. These papers were refiled in 1908, and the per- mit for reservoir construction was granted the same year. In 1912, after San Francisco hired M. M. O'Shaughnessey to construct Hetch Hetchy, the project drew significant opposition. Some opposition came from downstream farmers in the Turlock and Modesto areas who saw San Francisco as a threat to the water they claimed, and some was stimulated by the Spring Valley Water Company, which did not want to lose its monopoly as the city's only water supplier. The most vehement opposition came from John Muir and other nat- uralists who fought bitterly to save the Tuolumne River from being 10 State of California Bulletin, No.2, page 81.