Amador County – The Amador County Joint Water Committee on Monday discussed some of the current and future water needs for both local and regional jurisdictions. Amador Water Agency General Manager Jim Abercrombie said an off-stream reservoir project at Duck Creek, south of the Mokelumne River, could possibly store 150,000 acre feet of water for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. And Foothill Conservancy’s Pete Bell said San Joaquin County can take up to 500,000 acre feet a year from the Moke. The joint committee was discussing the Mokelumne River Water Forum, whose 16 members signed a Memorandum of Understanding 4 years ago to study the water supply. Abercrombie said “the forum was put together because over the last 20 years, Amador has been good about protesting” East Bay MUD’s attempts to dam the Moke. The object is to work on each member’s projected future needs. “In our case,” Abercrombie said, “That’s 20,000 acre feet of firm water supply, excluding agricultural water.” He said that could also translate into additional firm ag water for the Jackson Valley Irrigation District, “we just don’t know yet.” He said “San Joaquin (County) really just wants to recharge the groundwater basin.” Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli asked about the possibility of “5 or 6 years of drought in a row.” Abercrombie said “JVID wouldn’t get any water,” and the Central Amador Water Project, which serves the Upcountry, “would need additional storage just to get the water rights out.” Abercrombie said the forum process has been funded by state grants, and the state is “very interested in this conjunctive use project,” which could use Prop 84 money for targeting inter-regional projects. The Integrated Regional Conjunctive Use Plan is one of the elements in the East Bay MUD 2040 Water Management Plan that is being accepted by area water and municipal jurisdictions, while most of the local bodies have rejected the 2040 plan that would expand the Pardee Reservoir and flood parts of the banks of the Mokelumne River. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thursday, 23 April 2009 00:13
Joint Water Committee
Amador County – The Amador County Joint Water Committee on Monday discussed some of the current and future water needs for both local and regional jurisdictions. Amador Water Agency General Manager Jim Abercrombie said an off-stream reservoir project at Duck Creek, south of the Mokelumne River, could possibly store 150,000 acre feet of water for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. And Foothill Conservancy’s Pete Bell said San Joaquin County can take up to 500,000 acre feet a year from the Moke. The joint committee was discussing the Mokelumne River Water Forum, whose 16 members signed a Memorandum of Understanding 4 years ago to study the water supply. Abercrombie said “the forum was put together because over the last 20 years, Amador has been good about protesting” East Bay MUD’s attempts to dam the Moke. The object is to work on each member’s projected future needs. “In our case,” Abercrombie said, “That’s 20,000 acre feet of firm water supply, excluding agricultural water.” He said that could also translate into additional firm ag water for the Jackson Valley Irrigation District, “we just don’t know yet.” He said “San Joaquin (County) really just wants to recharge the groundwater basin.” Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli asked about the possibility of “5 or 6 years of drought in a row.” Abercrombie said “JVID wouldn’t get any water,” and the Central Amador Water Project, which serves the Upcountry, “would need additional storage just to get the water rights out.” Abercrombie said the forum process has been funded by state grants, and the state is “very interested in this conjunctive use project,” which could use Prop 84 money for targeting inter-regional projects. The Integrated Regional Conjunctive Use Plan is one of the elements in the East Bay MUD 2040 Water Management Plan that is being accepted by area water and municipal jurisdictions, while most of the local bodies have rejected the 2040 plan that would expand the Pardee Reservoir and flood parts of the banks of the Mokelumne River. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
