Amador Water Agency’s Manager of Engineering and Planning, Gene Mancebo says this will probably be phased in over the next three years or so. The original Environmental Impact Report on the pipeline construction assumes that the canal will remain empty after the new water pipe is installed. But many property owners along the canal have asked the water agency to fill in the canal with dirt to make their properties more accessible – and General Manager Jim Abercrombie said that some owners have even conditioned signing an easement agreement for AWA to maintain the pipe on filling in the ditch. Mancebo says it will probably be optional for property owners – some owners would rather the ditch on their property open for rainwater accumulation. Either way, an environmental study on the impacts of filling in the ditch and an addendum to the original EIR will have to be approved before property owners and AWA can make an informed decision. Board members voted to contract with an environmental firm to prepare a draft addendum on the entire 23-mile length of the canal for a fee not to exceed $25,000.