The State : Plan to Raze Dam Pursued

Reaffirming his commitment to the idea of draining the Hetch Hetchy reservoir and restoring the Northern California valley beneath to its natural state, Interior Secretary Donald P. Hodel said he saw no “serious” cost obstacles to the plan. Hodel said that the O’Shaughnessy Dam, which creates the reservoir, could be razed for as little as $10 million and that there might be no need to build another dam to replace it. He said the Interior Department is studying the possibility that “a complex water system” could “permit the water to be utilized without having to maintain Hetch Hetchy reservoir.” Hodel spoke at a briefing in Washington before leaving for Sacramento, where he is scheduled to meet today with San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein and other critics of the idea.