The Amador County Board of Supervisors this week approved a request from the Jackson Valley Irrigation District for a loan from the Water Development Fund in the amount of $150,000 for a Proposition 50 domestic water project. Jackson Valley currently gets its water from Lake Amador, which is sufficient for irrigation and fire suppression, but is an unreliable source of potable water for home use. In 2001, JVID entered into a compliance order with the State Department of Health Services which requires that potable water be provided to Jackson Valley residences. JVID submitted an application to the California Proposition 50 program to develop such a system, and were subsequently awarded $2 million dollars state grant money in November of 2007.

The money will be used to develop infrastructure that will bring water from the Mokelumne River at Pardee Reservoir to a treatment plant at Lake Amador. From Lake Amador, the potable water will be disbursed throughout Jackson Valley. JVID will use the Water Development Loan money to fund costs associated with Engineering, Design, surveying, Right of Ways, and Environmental Review in the early phase of development. The Prop 50 money will reimburse these activities when the work is completed, and the agreement is signed. JVID expects to be able to pay back the loan within 4-6 months. Tim Hoover, who presented the project to the Board on behalf of JVID, also noted that “This project is not designed for growth. A lot of people would like to join the district, but JVID does not feel it has enough water to expand its service area.” With the acquisition of the funding, JVID will go ahead with Phase One of the project. They will have to reapply for Prop 50 funding before they begin Phase Two, which involves installing pipelines for the domestic hook-ups.