Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors put $31,000 toward preserving its computer data, and another $14,000 toward having a say in Delta Legislation by paying its dues with a state group. The board also approved $2,000 to host a quarterly Mokelumne River Forum. Director Terence Moore said AWA “volunteered to hold the meetings when times were good,” but the funds were removed from the budget. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo recommended using operating expenses to pay for the forum, formed in 2005 with 14 member agencies. The board approved $31,000 for 2 generators for backup power supplies for computers. Engineering Manager Erik Christeson recommended the backups, one each at the Tanner administration office and its shop. Questions raised in the November meeting led staff to look at what other groups do for backup. Moore said “we had to bite the bullet” because “in today’s world of electronics, you have to protect your database.” He said in recent outages, the agency flirted with losing bases, and looked at other organizations’ generators. They looked at Calaveras County Water District, and Amador County, the latter of which uses one huge generator to back up its computers. Moore said their backup generators far exceed AWA’s. The agency has a 15-minute backup battery, before the system must be shut down manually to avoid a crash, and risks losing its customer data base, which could take weeks to restore. The board authorized buying 2 floor-mounted, propane generators. The board also authorized Mancebo to pay $14,000 in membership dues to the Association of California Water Agencies. Moore said the board sent a “nasty letter” to ACWA threatening to withhold payment because ACWA voted to support Delta Legislation, despite a split among membership over that support. Moore said they must remain a member of the state organization in order to be at the “table and protest.” He said it was “tokenism to withhold dues.” The board also tabled a presentation by agency attorney Steve Kronick on the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority. At the start of the meeting, Kronick said he had about 2-and-a-1/2 hours of presentations left to give on ARSA, as the board considers whether it will join that board. Kronick suggested having a special meeting to address it, and the board will likely set an ARSA workshop in a special meeting in January. The AWA board next meets January 14th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.