Water and Reservoirs

All this talk about Environmental Preservation and the history of what started when is interesting! Plus I'm learning a lot- I had no idea about the Hetch Hetchy debate, dam, or reservoir! The Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite has a reservoir in it created by the O'Shaughnessy Dam and filled by the Tuolumme River. This reservoir was a huge environmental debate during President Teddy Roosevelt's time. 

Long story short, people needed water and sort of lost water rights after a big earthquake. Since this place was in the protected Yosemite Valley, an authorization from Congress had to be made. People argued both ways. Some didn't want anything to be done with the protected area (I mean thats why they struggled to get it all protected in the first place right?) while others wanted to create something a bit more urbanized inside something untouched...for of course the benefits of the people living in the surrounding areas. 

It supplies water to millions of people in the surrounding areas and supplies power to San Francisco. Advocates today still are fighting to restore the valley to its original (dry) appearance. 

Here's a short video on the Hetch Hetchy reservoir- now being turned into a bad ass documentary I can't wait to check out- to better familiarize yourself with the issue!!

So where does YOUR water come from? Clicking here can help you figure that! Sometimes water comes from protected lands, straight from rivers, or from natural and man made aquifers. I think its important that people realize and understand where their water comes from. Poland Springs water advocates its resources from Maine. Fiji water from New Zealand. Evian from France. I never really got sold on buying a whole lot of bottled water. The water from my hometown was sooo delicious it could never be heated by any store bought water. I can taste the difference when i go to different places- even to other houses in my same town.
To buy bottled water however I always thought was the biggest thing to get ripped off on. If we bathe ourselves, our clothes, cook our food, clean our dishes, and water our lawns with water that comes from our town or our own well- why would it be any different to drink it?

5 Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water
1. A Rip Off
2.  Not any Healthier
3. Garbage, Waste, and more Garbage
4. Who is controlling it??? Your answer: Corporations
5. Less attention to public systems

Still not convinced? Try seeing where your water comes from! And just for kicks- go ahead and see where people in Sudan get their water, or people in the Congo or Zimbabwe. Don't be so picky

 Where Does Your Water Come From??