Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors two weeks ago directed staff to find out if the city of Jackson wants to continue paying for the agency to study the release of water into Jackson Creek.

The idea, proposed by President Bill Condrashoff, is to release untreated water from the Amador Transmission Pipeline into Jackson Creek, above the city’s water treatment plant, so that the water can dilute the city’s treated discharge and minimize treatment needed and costs.

The board directed staff to contact Jackson City Council and its staff and notify them of discussions having taken place with the AWA attorney. General Manager Gene Mancebo said the board also directed staff to see if the city wants to continue paying for the AWA attorney’s time in looking at the other options that the city wanted to consider.

AWA attorney Stephen Kronick in a memo to Mancebo November 11th said he estimated that various issues to study would take him 16 to 25 hours, at a cost of $215 per hour. That would cost an estimated $3,400 to $5,400.

He said the estimates are subject to change as he delves into the issues, the biggest of which was the impact on agency water rights. His initial estimate was spending 10 to 15 hours to look at the “Lodi Decrees,” “among other matters” related to water rights impact.

Mancebo sought direction to coordinate requested work efforts on behalf of the city with Kronick, as identified in an October e-mail from City Manager Mike Daly, “with the understanding that costs incurred for such work will be paid by the city of Jackson.”

Mancebo also recommended that “if the concept should appear to be viable, this would be a temporary service agreement so that this water can be available for future potable water needs.”

Condrashoff proposed releasing the water to help reduce costs to Jackson for “continued discharge of wastewater into Jackson Creek.”

Mancebo in a report to the board said “limited data” showed that “4,000 to 10,000 acre-feet of water could be needed in very dry years,” translating to 1.3 billion to 3.25 billion gallons a year.

Part of the proposal was to sell the water downstream to the Jackson Valley Irrigation District, but Mancebo said they were not interested in the purchase at AWA’s going rate. The city of Jackson could pay the balance, which could be as much as 90 percent of the cost, he said, but it would help the city meet regulations, and also help it consider reclamation.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.