water?
what’s in your
The 150-mile journey most Bay Area residents have never heard of — and why it matters to every household, every single day.
Your tap Water starts as snow
Every winter, the Sierra Nevada above 10,000 feet collects billions of gallons of snow. That snowpack is California's largest natural water storage system — a frozen reservoir that slowly releases into rivers each spring.
From there, gravity does the rest. No pumps. No energy-intensive treatment plants. Your water travels 150 miles downhill, through granite canyons and protected wilderness, before reaching your faucet as cold, clean, and pure.
A Few Highlights
150 miles — the distance your water travels from Sierra Nevada snowpack to your tap, entirely by gravity.
3 rivers — the Tuolumne, Stanislaus, and Merced sustain Bay Area drinking water, Central Valley farms, and over 600 wildlife species.
3 million people — Bay Area residents who start every morning with water that originates in the mountains above Yosemite.
95% collapse — the decline in salmon runs on rivers that once supported over 100,000 fish. Salmon are a signal species; when they disappear, the whole ecosystem feels it.
40+ years — the Yosemite Rivers Alliance has spent four decades restoring the forests, meadows, and stream banks that keep this system running.
"Every morning, over 3 million people start their day with water that traveled 150 miles from the mountains we protect together."
— Yosemite Rivers Alliance