(Sutter Creek) The Amador Water Agency is moving quickly to construct a major water conservation project – a raw water pipeline – paid for by the California Dept. of Water Resources to the tune of $5,126,560.00.
The Small Diameter Raw Water Pipeline Project will replace 18 miles of the open, unlined Amador Canal from New York Ranch Reservoir to Lake Tabeaud with a 6- to l2-inch diameter pipeline, reducing water loss, improving water supply reliability, and protecting water quality for raw water users. The Water Agency has less than two years to meet the state’s deadline for construction.
Piping the water in the open canal will save about 1,800 acre-feet of water every year. (A single acre-foot of water equals 326,700 gallons of water.) Hundreds of millions of gallons of water are now lost from the canal through leaks and evaporation.
“This is a huge cost savings for all water customers in Amador County,” said Gene Mancebo, AWA general manager. “With California’s current and future water shortage, piping the open canal is inevitable because of the water losses involved. The state grant of over $5 million will cover the cost of construction and will not have to be paid back by Amador County water customers.”
The pipeline is the second of two phases of the Amador Transmission Project, the first phase completed in 2007, which replaced a portion of the open canal from Lake Tabeaud to Tanner Reservoir at Agency headquarters on Ridge Road.
The remaining section of the canal now serves about 100 property owners along the canal. Completing the piping of the canal has been on hold while the Water Agency looked for a way to pay for the significant cost of construction without affecting AWA customers’ water rates.
Most property owners along the Amador Canal use the untreated water for agricultural or landscape purposes only, but a few homes in the area have no other source of water and are required to purchase bottled water for drinking and cooking. The Water Agency is also working on a separate project to provide treated drinking water to these customers.
The pipeline will be laid in or along the existing canal. When complete, water flow in the canal will cease. Individual property owners will be consulted on whether to fill in with soil and revegetate or leave the empty ditch as-is on their property.
To replace the water source for wildlife in the area, the Agency will be identifying locations for wildlife watering stations. Water will be metered to avoid waste or misuse, but the Agency will pay for the water used for wildlife.
“State funding for drought relief is a significant windfall for all of Amador County. Water conserved through this project could mean the difference between meeting drinking water demands for the majority of AWA customers in the future, or not.” Mancebo said.
Mancebo said the Water Agency will hold informational meetings on the project, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 6 pm at the Amador Water Agency Board room. For more information, contact AWA Customer Service at 209-223-1830, or visit the office at 12800 Ridge Road, Sutter Creek.
