Construction and History
The dam was proposed in 1903, when the city of San Francisco applied to the Department of the Interior for water rights in the area. The Sierra Club resisted for the next ten years. John Muir, its president and founder, declared, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man." The Raker Act of 1913 allowed the flooding of the valley, but debate continues to this day. Construction was completed in 1923. The dam then stood 227 feet (69 m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95 m) was achieved only later in 1938.
The Early Intake (Lower Cherry) Powerhouse began commercial operation five years before the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed. The first Moccasin Powerhouse in Moccasin, California began commercial operation in 1925 followed by the Cherry Powerhouse in 1960 (the same month the Early Intake Powerhouse was taken out of service). In 1967 the Robert C. Kirkwood Powerhouse started commercial operation followed by a New Moccasin Powerhouse in 1969 when the Old Moccasin Powerhouse was taken out of service. Finally, in 1988, a third generator was added to the Kirkwood Powerhouse.
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