Sutter Creek – A special meeting has been called by Amador Water Agency Board President Terence Moore to again discuss the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort Water Supply Assessment, approved in January 2008 by the past AWA board. The agenda includes a closed session discussion with legal counsel regarding “significant exposure to litigation.” Another item on the agenda is the Amador Water System, including “discussion and direction regarding the Gold Rush Water Supply Assessment.” The agenda also includes a closed session for a “public employee performance evaluation” of the general manager position. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said the evaluation was requested to be placed on the agenda by 2 members of the board, though he was not sure which 2 because he was not at the July 9th meeting. He said his usual evaluation typically comes at the end of his contract period, at the end of July. Regarding the rest of the meeting, he said “staff is looking for board direction on the Water Supply Assessment (WSA) that was approved for Gold Rush.” He said he could not release any other information. The AWA board discussed the WSA in closed session for nearly 2 hours at its July 9th meeting, then emerged announcing only that it had given confidential staff direction. In the regular meeting, Director Bill Condrashoff presented an analysis he made of the assessment and said he found the needed water flow was 42 cubic feet per second to serve Gold Rush and the rest of the Amador Water System. Condrashoff said in comparison, AWA’s assessment found it would take 30 cubic feet per second of flow to serve the agency’s Tanner Treatment Plant customers, a flow shortage he said was 4,000 to 5,000 gallons a minute short. Staff engineers and Abercrombie said they addressed Condrashoff’s analysis in the approval process of the WSA, and in the July 9th meeting, Abercrombie said “staff believes Bill’s analysis of Wicklow and Gold Rush is incorrect.” Condrashoff and Director Debbie Dunn asked legal liability questions at the meeting, and AWA Attorney Steve Kronick said those are things he would like to discuss in closed session. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said Condrashoff’s 42 cfs demand assumes incorrectly that residential usage is the same as commercial. He said in the summer, home use of water may be double, while at a restaurant, the opposite may be true. Condrashoff said most of the development is housing. Mancebo said AWA’s analysis took actual residential, commercial and industrial usage and amplified it to get its numbers. The special meeting is 1 p.m. Tuesday. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.