Abercrombie said the Pipeline Project finished on budget and 2 months ahead of schedule and that was due greatly in part to the contractors, the engineers and the community at large. “It took two things for this project,” he said, “Dedication that this was a project that the community needed and commitment.” He said that the project was a huge commitment for many as the AWA held over 100 meetings on the matter. Abercrombie also pointed out that not a single AWA director was against the project and then proceeded to invite the current board to join him. He said, Director Terry Moore, and board members John Swift, Dan Brown, Heinz Hamaan, and even Dave Thomas a new addition to the board were all very supportive for the project and demonstrated strong leadership. But since the project was 13 years in the making he said he couldn’t not recognize the former board members and invited them as well. They included: Paul Scott, Richard Forster, Ted Novelli and Bill Bordin. Abercrombie commented with out of there leadership they couldn’t have made this project possible.

He said he likens it to the people who originally built the canal and how many must have questioned their judgment of being able to build a 23 mile canal to carry water, he said he believes that future generations will consider the board pioneers of this important project. Director Terry Moore then spoke and said, “We are all happy about this project because of the increase of quality for the community.” He also joked that cows standing in the water supply is a thing of the past. Moore said the project was so important especially for conservation as the agency during peak season would loose about half of the water in the ditch due to evaporation and leaks. He thanked East Bay Mud and PG&E for their funding and said they could have given up on the time consuming project but they stuck with the agency through the end. PG&E starting yesterday will be contributing funds to the agency for a period of 25 years for the project.

Bill Tomei a representative of PG&E said the project only made sense and even from the beginning appeared to be a win, win situation. He congratulated the former and current board on their success. Abercrombie then thanked the employees who helped make the project possible including Director of Finance Mike Lee, former executive secretary to the Board Kim Toma and Manager of Engineering and Planning Gene Mancebo. Mancebo also had his own group to thank which consisted of: Eric Christenson, Ken Hunt, Bob Valdez, Vinny Vinciguerra, Ken Ziear, and Tammy Egard who he said were all key in the project. Abercrombie then finished his round of thank you’s to all of the agency employees as well as Kennedy Jenks the engineering consultant on the project, Ranger Pipeline the contractor, the agency’s Lawyer Steven Kronick, and Siro Toma.

The current board then rejoined Abercrombie and a plaque was then presented to the board and staff in honor of the accomplished project. Then for the very first time the board opened the valve to the new Transmission pipeline allowing water to flow out of the pipe and into the Tanner Reservoir. The ceremony was followed by refreshments and pictures taken during the construction of the project were about for the public to see how it progressed over time. Abercrombie said it was a team project a long time in the making that will benefit the community for years to come.