Friday, 14 August 2009 00:52
Amador Water Agency OK's UMRWA Dues, Wants to Cut Executive Hours
Sutter Creek – The Amador Water Agency board of directors on Thursday voted to reduce the hours and pay of an executive officer of its regional water board membership, and also sought to split the membership dues with Amador County. The board at its last meeting voted to not pay the membership fees of the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority, and asked Chairman Terence Moore to ask the Amador County Board of Supervisors to pay the entire $36,250 from the Amador Water Development Fund. Moore said he addressed supervisors. He said: “I made a brilliant presentation and was turned down flat.” They rejected the full amount, with staff unsure of the amount of funds in the Water Development Fund, and unsure about the fund’s ability to make loans. Moore said supervisors also questions the 1/3rd split between Amador and Calaveras county entities and the East Bay Municipal Utility District, saying East Bay MUD takes “the lion’s share of the water,” and should pay its share accordingly. Supervisors also questioned the funding of an outreach program by UMRWA, and thought it paid too much to its executive officer. They were also concerned that the executive officer, Rob Alcott, lived out of town. Supervisors authorized staff and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Daly to meet at the committee level and discuss an agreement. Moore said the committee reached consensus on removing $3,000 from the outreach spending at UMRWA to $15,000. They also agreed to remove the authority’s stewardship of PG&E land, in effect reducing the executive officer’s hours from 446 to 366. On top of that they agreed to a 10 percent cut of the executive’s remaining hours, with a cost savings for Amador entities’ share in UMRWA of $3,500, to make Amador’s share $32,750. The committee then agreed to split that cost between AWA and Amador County. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said it would be consistent with supervisors’ comments. The AWA board voted to approve paying half of that, or $16,375, contingent on supervisors’ approval. Abercrombie said they could use part of $30,000 budgeted for grant applications to pay the membership. The vote also approved the Moke River Authority’s 2010 work plan, which included an Amador and Calaveras county “leak detection and repair program.” Alcott, who attended the meeting, said: “This is your JPA, I’m a hired hand.” Alcott said they would have to discuss what a 36-hour reduction in his work would mean to UMRWA. The reduction in hours would have to be approved by all 9 members of the JPA. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Tuesday, 11 August 2009 00:29
Facing Setbacks, EBMUD Explores 2040 Water Plan Options
Jackson – East Bay Mud has delayed a decision on its highly contentious 2040 water plan in part due to strong objections from Amador and Calaveras County residents. The EBMUD Board scheduled another workshop for Tuesday at 10 am in Oakland to discuss the plan. Local objectors to the plan were expected to turn out in force at this morning’s meeting. The majority of local protest is centered on a proposed plan to expand the Pardee Reservoir and flood portions of the Mokelumne River in order to provide more water to customers in the East Bay. A number of local groups and government entities have publicly objected to the plan, citing potential damage to the river’s ecosystem, the destruction of historic sites and irreversible damage to a river considered important to Native Americans. Katherine Evatt of the Foothill Conservancy has said there is “also a concerted effort the last 10 or 15 years to develop the whitewater resources” of the Mokelumne River for the rafting industry. A resolution by the City of Sutter Creek “urges the Utility District to adopt higher conservation levels in its 2040 Water Management Plan instead of expanding Pardee Reservoir and destroying the Middle Bar reach of the Mokelumne River.” Two public workshops were held earlier this year in Amador County and Calaveras County. To comment on the proposed plan, contact EBMUD Board President Doug Linney at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 24 July 2009 01:57
Amador Water Agency
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board discussed its $36,000 dollar share of the Upper Mokelumne River Watershed Authority 2010 budget Thursday, and declined to pay it, seeking information instead. Director Debbie Dunn asked why staff waited until the day before the JPA votes on its budget to put the decision before AWA. Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said they only received the UMRWA agenda and draft budget last week. Director Don Cooper asked about a treasurer report of professional, consultant and engineering expenditures of $1.2 million dollars, spent since UMRWA’s “inception.” He said “What did we really get for $1.2 million dollars.” Funding to date included $1.4 million in total spending, with a total contribution by the AWA of $37,000 dollars. East Bay MUD paid $434,000, and the JPA has received $937,000 dollars in state grants. Mancebo said East Bay MUD did a “very comprehensive watershed study,” including looking at fisheries and gathering data. He said it’s something “we’re on the edge of,” and they can ask for presentation materials. Cooper asked for material, saying he didn’t “need it agendized, but (he) would like to get up to speed.” Dunn said she contacted Upper Moke Executive Officer Rob Alcott 6 months ago and has the “book” at home. She said “they continue to update it for free,” but the “problem is no one is using it.” She said AWA should be using the information, which it helped fund. AWA Chairman Terence Moore said “it is totally appropriate to ask Rob to come here. You need to know the benefits of having that board.” He said: “It’s the only public agency authority on that river” and was “born of a war” over water rights. Moore said “at one time, the counties did not have membership, even though Amador County was the lead agency” in its formation. Finance Manager Mike Lee said UMRWA is a “good umbrella” and increases chances for grants and funding with regional partnership. Mancebo said the JPA’s participation in an Integrated Regional Water Management Plan and grants was required to be eligible for some funding. He said “all the entities being on this list will help.” Mancebo said leak testing could help the AWA to find water losses of up to 7 to 9 percent of water the Tanner Plant. Dunn said: “I know nothing about something I’m being asked to approve.” Moore said “if we don’t think this benefits the entire county, we shouldn’t participate.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Monday, 20 July 2009 00:24
Sutter Creek Planning
Amador County – The Sutter Creek Planning Commission last Monday discussed the Amador Water Agency’s internal struggle over the Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. In particular, new board members are looking at an engineering study by Jackson Director Bill Condrashoff, in which he found that an agency Water Supply Assessment for Gold Rush was inadequate. Staff, however supported its assessment and the 2008 board’s approval last January of the document. Chairman Robin Peters said he thought “it would be irresponsible for the Planning Commission to do anything about this without a whole lot more information.” He said Condrashoff’s comments were addressed in the Final EIR by the AWA board. Peters said: “If AWA is concerned about the AWA’s document, a request for a re-evaluation of that document should come from the water agency.” The AWA ended a meeting on the issue with confidential staff direction given in closed session last Thursday. Sutter Creek’s planning commission talked about changes to its “Conditions of Approval” for Gold Rush, including one suggested by Peters that made “sure the city had first crack at serving water to” Gold Rush, and were considered before the AWA. Commissioner Mike Kirkley said that was discussed at the AWA meeting. He said if the “whole point was the tertiary plant, why are they talking about raw water?” Kirkley said he thought that “recycled water needs to be available before the golf course goes in.” Consultant Anders Hauge said having the existing raw water line available for use allowed Gold Rush to go forward. Kirkley said if Gold Rush can’t get recycled water, they would need to run a new pipe for raw water. Hauge said he is working on the timing involved, in the Development Agreement. Peters suggested a condition of approval that Gold Rush would have to “provide evidence that raw water will be supplied until tertiary water can be supplied by the city.” Peters said: “There’s got to be a mechanism to be able to get raw water to the golf course to make it viable.” The commission discussed upcoming meetings and having all 5 commissioners present for the big discussions and issues. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Tuesday, 14 July 2009 00:31
Amador Water Agency Discusses Recycled Water Program
Amador County – Amador Water Agency’s board of directors discussed the 2008 board’s approval of the Water Supply Assessment for Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort last week, looking at how the county would get a water reuse and recycling system. AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said the recycling and reuse system was something they would seek as part of a “conditional will-serve.” Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said AWA cannot supply will-serves “until there is a tentative map.” Mayor Pro Tempore Tim Murphy said he was not speaking for Sutter Creek but it was a subject that was currently in the hands of their Planning Commission, which meets at 6 p.m. to discuss Gold Rush. Murphy said the recycling and reuse system was likely a topic of the city council’s conditions of approval, to be negotiated with Gold Rush developers. Murphy said the Final Environmental Impact Report and conditions of approval are not yet approved by Sutter Creek. Abercrombie said a “raw water line” to serve Gold Rush Golf Course, will be in the conditions of approval. The Gold Rush plan also would seek a new source for water for the golf course, if a recycled water system is not put in place after 5 years. Condrashoff asked agency attorney Steve Kronick if the AWA can “say recycled water will be there?” Kronick said he would “have to examine that.” Condrashoff said he thought future participation fees could go up if they did not have a source of funding for the recycled water system. He also asked who would reuse systems, mentioned in the assessment. Abercrombie said he believed staffer John Griffin’s answer to Condrashoff’s analysis was accurate, and it was supported by County Planner Susan Grijalva. Director Debbie Dunn said she was “really impressed” by Condrashoff’s numbers, and asked if they could reopen the Water Supply Assessment as a board and restudy it, under state environmental law. Kronick said the issue and liabilities would have to be discussed in closed session. The board met in closed session on the matter and gave confidential staff direction. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Thursday, 02 July 2009 00:20
Joint Water Committee
Amador County – The Amador Joint Water Committee on Monday heard an update on the Plymouth pipeline project and also discussed water supply options for developments. Two board members each from the Amador County Board of Supervisors and the Amador Water Agency Board of Directors nudged toward the revision and clarification of the “notice of availability letters” that the agency gives out, but which Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo said does not guarantee water. He said it comes at a “very speculative point in development, and for us, it’s not an issue.” But he admitted others may see the notice differently. Amador County Planner Susan Grijalva was concerned that some property owners in the Camanche area seemed to think the “notice of availability” was a guarantee, and she was concerned that the notice did not have an expiration date. Mancebo said the letter of availability explains the process. Grijalva suggested that the notice tell the holder to check in with the AWA periodically. Mancebo said a “will-serve letter” is the guarantee of water capacity, but it contains a “provision that says they must take service within 2 years.” District 1 Director Bill Condrashoff noted that the AWA board extended will-serve letters by 1 year recently, due to the economic climate. District 1 Supervisor John Plasse said it was important to note that a will-serve letter does not lock in rates. He said it is bad for development when AWA still cannot say what wastewater service rates will be in some areas. AWA’s John Griffin said the agency’s committed conditional will-serves included just under 7-10ths of a Million Gallons a Day for the city of Plymouth, through its water pipeline. Griffin said the AWA has committed 670,000 gallons a day to serve Plymouth, once the pipeline comes online. That could be early to late fall, Mancebo said. He reported the Plymouth Pipeline was a month ahead of schedule, on budget and with very few “change orders.” It is about 50 percent completed, including all of the pipeline of “Segment 6,” which has been installed between Amador City, north to the Plymouth treatment plant on Fiddletown Road. Mancebo said the agency was very happy with the work of Mountain Cascade, and AWA’s inspector on the project, Bob Valdez, has been seen as a good reason for the efficiency on the project. Mountain Cascade was working on the pipeline this week, south of Amador City. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Tuesday, 30 June 2009 00:31
Amador Water Agency
Amador County – The Joint Water Committee heard a report Monday that the Amador Water Agency has backpedaled in its seeking a water and wastewater sub-element in the Amador County General Plan update. The joint committee’s Amador County supervisors heard an update of the AWA’s wishes, from Engineering & Planning Manager Gene Mancebo, who said a subcommittee of the board looked at all the draft General Plan’s public comments on water and wastewater. He said Amador County Planner Susan Grijalva gathered all of the notes, and gave them to the subcommittee, including AWA Chairman Terence Moore, Director Debbie Dunn (District 4), Mancebo and AWA staffer John Griffin. Grijalva said policies and goals related to water and wastewater came from various elements, including conservation, land-use and open space elements in the draft plan. She said a similar compilation of reference points can be given for businesses attempting to get general plan information on the county. She said the compilations “will be helpful to us as we evaluate applications.” She said they could those water and wastewater policy compilations as “hand-outs” at the planning department for businesses. Dunn, who was sitting on the Joint Water Committee in Moore’s absence, said that when Moore “heard people could come up and get all the information in one fell swoop,” he said “boy, let’s leave it where it is.” He was convinced to not pursue a separate water or wastewater element. Supervisor John Plasse asked about AWA’s wish to have a separate sub-element, with an offer of staff assistance to do that. AWA board Vice President Bill Condrashoff said “we pulled back completely from our sub-element.” Grijalva also asked that a Calaveras County draft water and wastewater element be marked to show changes made by the AWA subcommittee, including changing of words and adding of sentences. Dunn said it was decided that, rather than underlining all the changes they made, that they should give the county “a clear copy” of the document. Plasse said for the Supervisors and county planning commissioners, it would be best to have a redacted copy. Grijalva suggested strikethroughs, underlines and font changes to show the changes. Supervisor Chairman Ted Novelli said he would like to see someone attending the county General Plan update meetings who can speak to the panel on behalf of the Amador Water Agency. The Amador joint General Plan committee meets again July 8th. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Friday, 26 June 2009 00:43
Amador Water Agency
Amador County – After discussing the cost of replacing a pump station on the 30-year-old Central Amador Water Project pipeline, the Amador Water Agency board of directors on Thursday heard an update and information about a Gravity Supply Pipeline. Engineering and Planning Manager Gene Mancebo compared the cost of rebuilding the pump station and then the cost of operating the line, versus the costs associated with a gravity-powered pipeline. General Manager Jim Abercrombie said there is a cost to be paid to PG&E for “power foregone,” that is, the power lost from water diverted before it goes through PG&E’s 2 dams. That amount in 2009 is $70,000 dollars. Annual costs to rebuild the pump station and operate it this year are $600,000 dollars, and it would rise by $200,000 dollars every 10 years, Mancebo said. In contrast, with a 4-year fixed loan, building a Gravity Supply Line with a 30 percent grant would cost $600,000 dollars annually, but increase in cost by $100,000 dollars a year. Building the gravity line with a 45 percent grant would cost $500,000 annually and increase by about $100,000 dollars every 10 years, or $10,000 a year. Mancebo said the line would use existing logging roads, and Upper Tiger Creek Road, with minimal environmental effect. He said the $13.3 million estimate to build it includes all environmental work, all construction, easements and acquisition. Director Bill Condrashoff suggested putting a generator at the site of the pump station, for outages. Abercrombie said it could be worked into the estimate costs for revamping the pumping pipeline, if they do the pump rebuild. Director Don Cooper said they would need a 2,500 kba generator at both locations. Each is about 5 times bigger than a used generator they looked at, at 60 kba, for $4,000 dollars. Mancebo said the Gravity Supply Line was originally studied by Kennedy Jinx Engineering in 1989, when its $4 million dollar estimated price tag was deemed too expensive by the AWA. But it was seen as needed to create a reliable water capacity that is unaffected by power outages and wildfires. It would also increase capacity to meet future demands and improve the quality. Mancebo said the pump stations are at the end of their useful life and operating beyond reliable capacity. The project would replace the pump stations with about 33,000 lineal feet of 20-inch pipe, connecting the Tiger Creek Regulating Reservoir to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Thursday, 18 June 2009 17:00
Amador Water Agency
Amador County – In its second workshop on the 2009-2010 budget, the Amador Water Agency board of directors on Tuesday clarified its directions to staff from the previous meeting. Board member Don Cooper pointed at a 13.9 percent rate increase in wastewater and told staff he thought he had told them to look at “no rate increases.” AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie said he thought the direction of the board was to have “staff come up with some kind of revenue stream to close the gap.” Board member Bill Condrashoff criticized Finance Manager Mike Lee for “math errors” and figures that did not add up correctly. Lee projected the last 6 weeks of the fiscal year, and “it’s the most realistic prediction I can give you.” Cooper said “I would like to see the impact of removing $800,000 dollars from this budget. We are not supposed to build this budget line by line.” He said “I’m a little frustrated because that is not our job.” Board member Debbie Dunn said the only changes staff pointed out in the new draft budget was the Cost of Living Adjustment. Abercrombie said he was looking at 5 different board members’ directions, and “some want to go line by line and go through the minutiae,” and some want a more wide view. Board member Gary Thomas said he would like to see the broad budget and then go line by line when needed. Chairman Terence Moore said “I would like to see this thing flat, see if we can give them a breather for a year.” He suggested balancing the budget using reserves. Condrashoff said he would like to see it balanced this year, but not by using reserves, because they would just face the same problems next year. Cooper said he thought the budget was over-projecting revenues and “stacking the deck – you are expecting to get more revenue that you will probably get.” Condrashoff said he wanted to minimize rate increases and cut the budget. Moore said he did not “know if we can cut out all the rate increases.” He suggested trying to keep the increases low, in the 2-4 percent range. Cooper said “we probably can’t take it to zero, but I’d like to see what happens when we take ti to zero. I would like to see what it looks like without the wound getting cut open.” Condrashoff agreed, saying he would like to see the Amador Water System rate increase “down to zero.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Wednesday, 17 June 2009 00:32
Board Of Supervisors
Amador County – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard an informational presentation by Amador Water Agency Engineering Manager Gene Mancebo on the potential benefits of an Inter-Regional Conjunctive Use Project, or IRCUP. As described in an agreement on conceptual terms and conditions pending approval, the IRCUP will “improve the availability of water supplies and provide environmental benefits through inter-regional conjunctive use efforts with new or enhanced ground and surface water storage.” The agreement would take place between the AWA, the Calaveras Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District, the Mokelumne River Water and Power Authority, and the San Joaquin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. The agreement states this “would provide for mutual support” for regional water projects and “resolve pending protests.” “The Amador Water Agency looks at water needs like a 3-legged stool: water conservation, water reclamation and water supply projects,” said Mancebo, referring to his agency’s desire to balance the three components equally. The agreement focuses on water storage in the San Joaquin ground basin for subsequent extraction in dry years, in order to help meet growing water demand needs. As outlined in a slide presentation, Amador, Calaveras and EBMUD will utilize the additional storage as demand increases, but San Joaquin needs supply as soon as possible to address its “groundwater overdraft” situation. “San Joaquin has been overdrafting their water supply, and as a result has salt water intrusion on their groundwater supply,” said Mancebo. Mancebo said San Joaquin County officials estimate additional storage of up to a million acre feet of water. Supervisor John Plasse asked if there “are enough flows off the Mokelumne River to meet those needs.” Mancebo said the water supplies we currently function off already meet that demand. He added that the State Water Resources Control Board has already listed the Mokelumne as a fully appropriated stream.” Foothill Conservancy Vice President Pete Bell said “we’ve got real problems with the terms and conditions of this agreement” and that “San Joaquin has been over-pumping for over 70 years,” but no other details were provided. No action was taken. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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