Amador County – The Jackson City Council discussed some of its options for wastewater compliance Monday, and how they might be seen by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

City Manager Mike Daly said the Sewer Rate Committee reviewed a wide variety of options, and recommended three sewer system upgrade options, plus a fourth “No Option plan,” which he and the Regional Board regulator said were not an option, due to discharge permitting regulations looming over the city.

Daly said Ken Berry proposed an off-stream storage reservoir to store runoff, to be able to release that water later to improve city dilution of its effluent discharged into Jackson Creek. Other options are land application, and Daly said area ranchers were interested in using that irrigation water from the city’s proposed system, which could be used to water livestock grain, or even crops.

Regional Board Regulator Kenneth Landau, attending Monday’s meeting, said federal and state policy and law discourages discharging treated wastewater into creeks and surface water, while with land discharge, you must worry about containment. He noted that a reservoir would still need a land application permit.

Sewer Rate Committee member Thornton Consolo asked about the property owners and when their names and contract details would be made public, in related land acquisition deals. District 1 Supervisor John Plasse, speaking as a “concerned citizen,” asked what property was under consideration for Berry’s reservoir idea.

Daly said it was “roughly on Jones Ranch property,” below French Bar Road and between that road and Jackson Creek. He said city staff had not spoken about the reservoir idea with the Fuller Land Trust group, which owns the land. He had spoken with Busi Ranch owners, who were interested in purchasing effluent to use on the ranch.

Councilman Wayne Garibaldi said he wanted to see the viability of options, and also to see if there were better ways to get funding than “raiding the general fund.”

Committee member Judy Jebian asked why sewer system upgrades had not been made. She said costs estimated in 2003 have now nearly doubled, to about $2.3 million. She said: “I support upgrades and a rate increase to cover it.” She also commended “staff for recommending competitive bids” for the environmental work.

Bill Condrashoff, who wrote a report on which Berry based his idea for an 86 acre-foot reservoir, told the council to beware of a large rate increase. He said a small, 21 percent increase proposed by the Amador Water Agency over three years was blocked by a protest. Condrashoff said they should make sure they base their cost estimates on accurate information.

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