Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board on Tuesday received support of the Amador County Board of Supervisors for the Gravity Supply Line project in the Upcountry, while Supervisors defended their decision to support it.

Supervisors passed a resolution that urged AWA’s Board of Directors to pursue the GSL’s completion, with the aid of a $5 million USDA grant, and accompanying loan. Supervisors said it would help with water reliability, needed for decades in the Central Amador Water Project service area, and increase reliability for everyday water use and fire suppression.

Former AWA Vice President Debbie Dunn criticized the resolution, saying “fire issues are not the primary responsibility of water purveyors or water agencies.” She said: “To adopt a resolution endorsing this $14 million project for its exemplary fire protection is a public manipulation and not an honest position.” She said they did not make a “comprehensive consideration of the entire project” and its costs relative to the economy.

Supervisors defended their “homework” and the GSL project, and criticized Dunn for working against it. They also lauded former federal forester Rich Farrington for his volunteer work in studying the GSL, and work with Amador Fire Chiefs’ Association, and Amador Fire Safe Council, both which support the project, and the potential to get a fire flow of 2,000 gallons a minute, at hydrants along the proposed pipeline. Farrington said it gave access to 76 million gallons of water in the PG&E Regulator Reservoir, which in the pipeline would be “under pressure continuously.”

Supervisor Brian Oneto said “fire does what it wants, and you are at its mercy,” and they “need a good source of water that’s pressurized and dependable.”

Wendell Peart of Pine Grove asked about the GSL bringing enough water for 7,000 homes in the Upcountry. Supervisor Richard Forster said that was the capacity, but it did not mean they would be built overnight.

Forster said it was about reliability, and in 1992, when he was on the AWA board, it fully supported the GSL, but did not have funds to build it.

Mancebo said in a power outage, the CAWP system has storage to last for about 1-and-half days in the summer, but the supply could last maybe three days in winter.

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said pumps are not infallible, and the gravity line increases reliability and removes the affects of power outages, or burned pumps, while water pressure helps with fire suppression. He said the “faster you can fill the trucks, the better.”

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