A special joint meeting between the Board of Supervisors and the Amador Water Agency, or AWA, was held yesterday at the County Offices. The meeting was open to the public. The two parties discussed- but did not take any action -on a number of water and wastewater matters currently affecting the county. Supervisor Richard Forster was present and played “host” throughout the proceedings. Matters pertaining to water issues included discussion of new developments, the status of the water supply for Carbondale Industrial Park, the water supply pipeline to the City of Plymouth, and the proposed Wild and Scenic River designation for the Mokelumne River.

Debbie Dunn was on hand to represent the Foothill Conservancy, which has been pushing for the Mokelumne’s Wild and Scenic designation. Pros and Cons for Wild and Scenic status  were discussed, including the relative ease or difficulty such a designation would make for the Water Agency in implementing future regulations upon that portion of  the river. In reference to wastewater issues, AWA general manager Jim Abercrombie talked about the capacity of the Sutter Creek Plant. There was also some talk about the Camanche area and taking drinking water over the hill to a landowner’s property. This decision could be affected by the presence of  the California Tiger Salamander, which has been discovered within a mile of the area.

The Environmental Protection Agency is interested in how the Salamander’s habitat will be affected. A final discussion occurred between Dunn and Abercrombie concerning the wastewater capacity at the Airport. Dunn, a representative of the Airport Committee and its ongoing renovations and improvements to the airport, seemed surprised when Abercrombie remarked that the AWA has no to little further wastewater capacity available for the airport to use. Discussions will continue at future meetings.