One section of the canal along the north bank of Lake Tabeaud has been “dewatered” or emptied – in this case, by PG&E, the owner Gene Mancebo, about plans for “dewatering” the rest of the 23 miles of the old Amador Canal. Mancebo says about 134 customers with property along the old canal still receive raw water directly from the canal, but the new pipeline is too far away to replace their service. So, the Water Agency plans to run a small water pipe in the old ditch to serve those customers. After this pipe is installed in the canal and current canal customers are hooked up, the agency will stop pumping water into the canal. Mancebo says this will probably be phased in over the next three years or so, but not without feedback from customers, neighboring property owners and the public at large. of this short stretch of the canal – giving us a glimpse of the future for the old ditch. We talked to Amador Water Agency’s Manager of Engineering and Planning,

\The agency is currently surveying customers along the canal above Ridge Road on whether or not they’d like to get treated water,Ridge Road already have the option of connecting to treated water. If there’s enough interest and an affordable means to provide it can be designed, the water agency may run a treated water supply in the old ditch. Some property owners along the canal have asked the water agency about filling in the canal, while others are interested in maintaining some water basins for local wildlife. Mancebo says the agency Board of Directors is open to these suggestions and plans to hold public meetings starting early next year to get feedback on plans to dewater the ditch. “We don’t want to do this in a vacuum,” said Mancebo. rather than the untreated canal water they now use. Customers along the lower section of the canal along