Sutter Creek – Amador County Supervisors John Plasse and Chairman Ted Novelli earlier this month worked out terms of agreement with the Amador Water Agency to provide water and wastewater services for a proposed new county jail. Gene Mancebo, interim general manager, said in a release last week that AWA’s board of “directors approved waiving a number of agency policies to accommodate county requests, citing public safety and a desire for cooperation between local government agencies.” The jail is estimated to need a maximum flow of 22,000 gallons of water a day of water and is expected to produce about 19,400 gallons a day of wastewater. The Amador County Sheriff’s Office has identified a site for the proposed jail. The parcel, in the Amador Central Office Park, has a daily service entitlement of 1,200 gallons of water and 600 gallons of wastewater. The county has applied for additional capacity with the AWA and “needs to confirm availability and cost for water and wastewater prior to purchasing the jail property,” Mancebo said. The agency's proposal was approved in a September 18th special meeting. In the agreement, the agency “is prepared to reserve water supply for up to 10 years while the county secures jail construction funding,” Mancebo said. A guarantee for wastewater capacity will require an agreement between Sutter Creek and the AWA to purchase capacity. Mancebo said: “The county will be charged AWA's service participation fees in place today, and the county has an option to pay the participation fees over” a 1-year to 10-year period. A 3 percent annual escalator will be imposed if the county chooses to make annual payments. Mancebo said Sutter Creek administrators have said they will provide sewer capacity to serve the jail. AWA directors emphasized their support of the new jail project and for an agreement that facilitated the county's project without asking AWA ratepayers to pay to serve a new jail. District 1 Director Bill Condrashoff said: “We are not subsidizing the jail.” Mancebo said AWA bent it policy for the deal with Amador County. Policy typically requires that capacity can only be reserved for 2 years and that service must be initiated within 2 years of participation fees payment or fees are increased to current levels. AWA will also credit the county for disconnecting one of its two 2-inch water connections at the existing jail, if Jackson officials agree. By Jim Reece. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.