The Amador Water Agency has much in store for the upcoming months.  At Thursday’s Board of Directors meeting, general Manager Jim Abercrombie updated the board on the many upcoming projects, meetings, and studies planned and in progress by the agency. On April 11th, all members of the Mountain Counties Water Resources Association are invited to provide input at the California Water Plan Update meeting in Sonora.  The Amador Water Agency will discuss with the state their concerns over the preparation of the new water plan.  Past issues have been related to water rights, increasing small local storage projects, and how to meet the growing population demand in the foothills. In the Lake Camanche area, the agency will be conducting the second year of a three year endangered species study. 

The agency and local land owners want to construct a Lake Camanche Wastewater Site and Recycling Area to provide for tertiary recycled water for cattle grazing; however, the US Department of Fish and Wildlife is maintaining that the California tiger salamander may be impacted. With the help of Congressman Dan Lungren’s office, the agency was able to get approval to conduct a second year of the study. A new Ione booster pump station is on schedule and is coming in under budget.  The new station, which is being paid for by a local developer, will help to fill a new two million gallon steel water tank, which Abercrombie expects will “fully maximize storage capacity in that area.” The station is situated between the Wildflower development and Howard Park and is scheduled to be operational sometime in April.  And the much talked about Plymouth Pipeline project will be going out to bid in May or June.  Abercrombie will be giving an update on that project at the board’s April 24th meeting.