Amador County – The Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority was born from necessity, and led to unprecedented cooperation among regional entities on the river’s resources. Amador Water Agency Chairman Terence Moore said in the early days of the JPA, “sometimes we were brutally honest with each other,” then he would tell himself, that was the last meeting he would attend. Then, Executive Director Rob Alcott would call and invite the AWA to the next meeting. There was more straight talk last week when Moore said a JPA subcommittee was looking at cutting hours and duties for Alcott. Alcott, who heard Moore’s report at the AWA on the subject last week, said it was OK that they talked about qualms raised about UMRWA in the open session, including his living out of town, something that bothered some Amador County Supervisors. Alcott told the board of the history of the Upper Moke RWA. In the early days, “it was kind of novel, these groups getting together and agreeing on something. It was not something that happened very often.” But the Amador, Alpine and Calaveras water agencies, and the East Bay Municipal Utility District hammered out a JPA. It was created in 2000 to protect the area from a private company coming in and purchasing Moke River land, as PG&E struggled with bankruptcy. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said they were very intense discussions, forming the JPA. Alcott said they were able to “bury the hatchet for the time being” on some issues. A court-approved bankruptcy reorganization plan ended UMRWA’s acquisition efforts, but the JPA remained, and became a way to get regional funding, and gave the Moke River a regional public entity. Membership dues are optional, Alcott said, “which does make for some extended budgeting processes.” But amendments have strengthened the organization, including a 2005 expansion of mission statement of UMRWA, to have as its goal “the enhancement of the Mokelumne River Water Supply and protection of water quality and environment.” It also added counties as members, though Alpine County chose to take only 1 vote. The JPA has applied for a Sierra Nevada Conservancy grant to fund an Upper Moke septic tank clean-up program, to “reduce some of the threats” to the river, from leaching septic tanks. Alcott said they still need a study to prove septic leakage is an issue there. The SNC grant application is asking $260,000 for the program, with a decision on the award expected by September. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.