Amador County – The Amador Water Agency this week announced intent to consider a mitigated negative declaration for its proposed Gravity Supply Line, which would carry raw water from the Tiger Creek area to the Buckhorn treatment plant. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said a comment period opened November 21st and extends until December 21st. The notices are available on the AWA website, the agency’s office and the Amador County Library. Mancebo said the AWA board on January 14th will consider whether to make the negative declaration. The GSL’s estimated construction cost is $13.4 million, for which AWA is working with California Rural Development of the USDA for an $8 million loan and $5 million grant. Mancebo said the gravity supply project does not use power, and would replace pumps that carry raw water uphill to the Buckhorn plant for treatment. Those pumps lost power in Sunday’s storm. Power was restored about 24 hours later. Mancebo said one option AWA could consider is to just upgrade the pump stations, potentially needing backup generators there as part of the system upgrade. The generators there now are not big enough to operate the pumps. He said if the Gravity Supply Line was built, AWA wouldn’t have to have the pumps. After the outage this weekend, PG&E had crews searched a 60,000-volt line for causes. AWA “had a request to make it a priority.” Late Monday night, power to the pump stations was restored. Mancebo said Upcountry areas were working to restore stored water used for treating. Conservation efforts helped and it “could have potentially been much worse.” He said during the 24-hour outage, the agency “used more than half of the water from storage” in “20 diff storage tanks throughout different systems.” He guessed customers “probably used 30-40 percent less water than they normally use.” Taking a generator to the pump stations would have involved traveling on private, un-cleared roads, to treacherous pump location on the sides of cliffs. Mancebo said “had power not been restored, they would have had to clear the roads to haul generators down there.” See the Gravity Supply Line notice of intent at www.AmadorWater.org. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - While Mother Lode residents recover from a heavy winter storm Monday that dropped snow as low as 1000 feet, another warmer wave of winter weather is expected to dump rain and snow on Friday. This storm will bring a 90 percent chance of precipitation on Saturday, but no snow in lower elevations, according to the National Weather Service. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were still approximately 2,700 customers without power in the Calaveras-Amador-San Joaquin region, according to PG&E spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt. PG&E said none of these outages were concentrated in particular areas and were mainly attributed to isolated issues like downed tree limbs. Also on Wednesday, 12,000 customers were still without power in El Dorado County. Public schools were closed completely in Amador and Calaveras counties on Monday, and bus routes were limited Tuesday and Wednesday due to unsafe road conditions. But the severe weather isn’t isolated to California. Upper Midwest residents braced themselves Wednesday as a storm of snow, ice, wind and rain closed most schools and businesses and killed at least 12 people. The weather service said the storm was Iowa’s worst since 1996. Des Moines had 14.7 inches of snow by 7 a.m. Wednesday. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency as the state rode out blizzard-like conditions. Hundreds of schools across New York's eastern half were closed and almost 50,000 upstate utility customers were without electricity. Snowfall was very heavy in Maine during the day, with accumulations of up to two feet expected in the state’s western mountains. Caltrans is reminding residents that chains are required on all vehicles except 4-wheel-drive vehicles with snow tires on most open roadways in the higher elevations. Due to the icy and snow covered roadways, residents are asked to limit their travels to essential travel only. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors could select a new board president and vice president for the upcoming year at its meeting today in its offices on Ridge Road. District 1 Director and Vice President Bill Condrashoff was discussed as the next president, when the board appointed current President Terence Moore of District 5 last December. The board will also decide committee assignments, many based on the sitting president and vice president. The AWA board held a rate workshop Tuesday to discuss rate increases in the Camanche Water System. Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said no action was taken but the board directed staff to prepare information for considering a rate increase in the Camanche Water System. He said the board will come up with a date for a public hearing, probably sometime in January or February. It must be noticed 45 days in advance. The board also went through a financial plan for the Central Amador Water Project water system, and adjourned meeting to be reconvened at 1:30 p.m. today (Thursday, December 10) in the middle of the regular board meeting that starts at 9 a.m. today. Other discussion includes a recommendation by Mancebo to pay $2,000 for a Mokelumne River Forum quarterly meeting. The board will also discuss AWA Attorney Steve Kronick’s recommendations on “buying local” or contracting local preferences. The board could also hear more of Kronick’s presentation on the benefits and risks of joining the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – With projected funding drops and already falling ridership, the Amador Regional Transportation System reduced or altered 16 bus routes last week. Executive Director James Means in a report to the ARTS board of directors November 30th said Amador County expected lower overall sales tax receipts, and County Auditor Joe Lowe expected a $150,000 drop in Local Transportation Funding. A ridership analysis showed the number of riders on ARTS busses decreasing for the second straight year, in the first 4 months of this fiscal year. October riders totaled 7,410, down more than 1,000 riders from the previous year and down nearly 3,000 riders from 2007-2008 reports. Similar drops in ridership occurred in each of the first 4 months this fiscal year. A performance summary by Gordon Shaw and LSC Consultants found that ARTS had an operating cost of $318,000 in the first quarter of the fiscal year, with revenue of about $60,000. With 19,665 total passengers, the cost per passenger in ARTS operation was $16.19 per rider, or $3.65 per mile and $75.99 per hour. The marketing department showed a projected income of $28,000 for its “Rolling Billboard” advertisement sales, based on $14,000 in actual sales the first week. ARTS publicist Terry Grillo estimated possible gross income for billboard sales at $64,000 to $70,000 for a year. Shaw of LSC recommended “service reductions in the attempt to streamline service, reduce inefficiencies and address the dramatic drop in Transit Development Plan funds.” Means and staff recommended implementing a service plan by Shaw as “the most reasonable option.” The reductions would eliminate 13 bus routes and portions of 4 others, and also would eliminate a “Reserve-a-Ride” program. The service plan would also expand the Americans with Disabilities Act “deviation” distance by ½ a mile, past the legally require ¾ of a mile. It will also impose a $2 charge for non-ADA deviation requests. The ARTS board approved all of the recommendations on a 6-0 vote. In another change last week, ARTS will still meet federal requirements for handicapped riders. Means proposed cutting 4 of 8 “shuttle routes” between Jackson and Sutter Creek, and “the 4 remaining Shuttle routes will continue operating as deviated fixed-route, providing highly specialized service” for major residential and business areas in Jackson and Sutter Creek. Daniel H. Brewer, Caltrans Chief of Rural Planning & Administration, said the deviated fixed route would satisfy federal requirements for a “para-transit plan” for bussing services. The board approved the changes 6-0. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency early Tuesday lifted a request to conserve water in its Upcountry water system, and announced that power had been restored at a pump station. Customers of the Upcountry-area Amador Water System were requested to conserve water in order to stretch the water supply as officials worked into the night Monday to restore power. AWA Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday that the agency was “lifting the request for conservation,” and was able to get power restored on Monday night. He said due to some control problems, the agency was not able to start making water until some time Tuesday morning, but the plant at Buckhorn was making water early Tuesday. The pumps were reactivated to restore water flow from the Tiger Creek area to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant, which serves about 4,000 customers in the Pine Grove and Mace Meadow areas. Mancebo said: “People did a fantastic job in conserving water (Monday), which really helped out,” and the AWA really appreciated that help from its customers. The water agency announced the loss of power early Monday, and requested water usage conservation from its Upcountry customers in the Amador Water System. The storm that struck the region Sunday knocked out power sometime Sunday night at the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant, Mancebo said, and sometime before 9 a.m. an outage deactivated the transfer pump that feeds the Buckhorn plant. An emergency backup generator kept the Buckhorn plant operating, but the pump, located in a remote area between the plant and the Tiger Creek area, was not immediately fixable. Mancebo said Pacific Gas & Electric Company on Monday was going to try to restore power with switching electricity flows around a fallen high-voltage line. He said the company had a 60,000-volt line down as a result of the storm. The agency was unsure when power would be restored, but various storage tanks in the Amador Water System had water. Mancebo said about 4,000 AWS customers in the Upcountry were affected and faced a potential loss of water, without the conservation. The Amador Water Agency board of directors has its next meeting 9 a.m. Thursday. Among the agenda items is discussion items is getting “emergency generators for the Tanner administration office and shop,” with discussion and direction regarding purchase and installation of emergency generators. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – After a lengthy debate on Tuesday, the Amador County Board of Supervisors agreed to rescind a previous motion which prevented contract negations from going forward concerning the Arroyo Ditch in Plymouth. Last month, Supervisors approved a First Amendment for Conveyance of the ditch and then just as quickly retracted that approval, citing concerns over a lack of guarantee in the contract to deliver water to landowners further downstream. Plymouth Attorney Steven Rudolph said the “unintended consequence” of that action led to Shenandoah Management Company “walking away from the table.” Plymouth officials previously stated that the quitclaim contract gave the city flexibility to negotiate with the Shenandoah Management Company for further improvement and maintenance of the 18-mile canal, which carries water from the Consumnes River into and past Plymouth. “Dealing with two levels of government puts them in a situation where they cannot win,” said Rudolph. Supervisor Brian Oneto reiterated his original concerns over water guarantees brought to him by constituents in the Willow Springs Water District, an inactive, 2,861 acre entity consisting of members living along the ditch outside of Plymouth. Oneto said Plymouth’s “guarantee” was no good unless they specify exactly how many cubic feet they will deliver further downstream. Rudolph said “we’re not going to commit to a specific flow agreement…but it will be in any document we execute with a private party.” Chairman Ted Novelli said they have been meeting with the city since June and the ongoing debate is getting costly. “We have to remember…this is for all of us, and if everyone in the county benefits from (the Arroyo Ditch) in the long run, that’s a good thing,” he said. Plymouth Mayor Jon Colburn, who was in attendance along with other city officials and most of the city council, said “the bottom line is that we lost our investor. This is risk capitol we don’t think we can duplicate.” He said Shenandoah Management Company had already spent “over $100,000 in good faith” on substantial capitol improvements. Colburn pointed to audience members who he said were on fixed incomes and were concerned about the cost of water going up if the ditch agreement is not settled. Oneto said: “I don’t doubt your (council’s) intentions, but down the road, a lot of people in your political position change.” Referring to charges that the Board’s action created an additional level of bureaucracy, Plymouth resident Butch Cranford told Supervisors “you find yourselves guilty of what you complain about through the action you took in putting this (contract) in abeyance.” Supervisor John Plasse disagreed, saying “this board is asking for one provision, not two layers of government.” He said this problem might have been avoided if Plymouth officials brought their concerns of flow agreement provisions before the Board of Supervisors in the first place. Supervisor Louis Boitano carried to rescind the previous motion to hold the contract in abeyance and reinstate the County’s agreement to approve the Contract for Conveyance of the Arroyo Ditch so Plymouth can return to its negotiations. The motion was supported by Supervisors Forster and Novelli. Oneto voted no and Plasse abstained. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County - Thousands of residents throughout the Mother Lode were still without power almost a day after a winter storm wreaked havoc across Northern California. In Calaveras and Amador counties, approximately 25,000 combined were affected by outages. According to Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), the majority of outages in Amador County were restored as of Tuesday morning. Some residents Upcountry were still reporting minor power breaks Tuesday morning, mostly due to snow and fallen tree limbs. In Calaveras County, an outage in Mokelumne Hill held up to 500 residents in the dark as of 5 pm Tuesday afternoon, and another outage in West Point was affecting up to 50 people. According to the National Weather Service, the unusually heavy storm front occurred when a dry air mass from Canada combined with moisture from the Pacific Ocean. The system was so cold it brought snow to lower elevations. Snow was reported as far west as Rancho Murieta. More than two feet of snow fell in the Pioneer area. The storm was good news for ski resorts. Kirkwood Mountain Resort reported 28 to 40 inches of snowfall. The arrival of Sunday's storm has delivered over three feet of snow,” said Julie Koster, Kirkwood’s Director of Sales and Marketing. Caltrans is reminding residents that chains are required on all vehicles except 4-wheel-drive vehicles with snow tires on most open roadways in the higher elevations. Due to the icy and snow covered roadways, residents are asked to limit their travels to essential travel only. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – After a lengthy debate on Tuesday, the Amador County Board of Supervisors agreed to rescind a previous motion which prevented contract negations from going forward concerning the Arroyo Ditch in Plymouth. Last month, Supervisors approved a First Amendment for Conveyance of the ditch and then just as quickly retracted that approval, citing concerns over a lack of guarantee in the contract to deliver water to landowners further downstream. Plymouth Attorney Steven Rudolph said the “unintended consequence” of that action led to Shenandoah Management Company “walking away from the table.” Plymouth officials previously stated that the quitclaim contract gave the city flexibility to negotiate with the Shenandoah Management Company for further improvement and maintenance of the 18-mile canal, which carries water from the Consumnes River into and past Plymouth. “Dealing with two levels of government puts them in a situation where they cannot win,” said Rudolph. Supervisor Brian Oneto reiterated his original concerns over water guarantees brought to him by constituents in the Willow Springs Water District, an inactive, 2,861 acre entity consisting of members living along the ditch outside of Plymouth. Oneto said Plymouth’s “guarantee” was no good unless they specify exactly how many cubic feet they will deliver further downstream. Rudolph said “we’re not going to commit to a specific flow agreement…but it will be in any document we execute with a private party.” Chairman Ted Novelli said they have been meeting with the city since June and the ongoing debate is getting costly. “We have to remember…this is for all of us, and if everyone in the county benefits from (the Arroyo Ditch) in the long run, that’s a good thing,” he said. Plymouth Mayor Jon Colburn, who was in attendance along with other city officials and most of the city council, said “the bottom line is that we lost our investor. This is risk capitol we don’t think we can duplicate.” He said Shenandoah Management Company had already spent “over $100,000 in good faith” on substantial capitol improvements. Colburn pointed to audience members who he said were on fixed incomes and were concerned about the cost of water going up if the ditch agreement is not settled. Oneto said: “I don’t doubt your (council’s) intentions, but down the road, a lot of people in your political position change.” Referring to charges that the Board’s action created an additional level of bureaucracy, Plymouth resident Butch Cranford told Supervisors “you find yourselves guilty of what you complain about through the action you took in putting this (contract) in abeyance.” Supervisor John Plasse disagreed, saying “this board is asking for one provision, not two layers of government.” He said this problem might have been avoided if Plymouth officials brought their concerns of flow agreement provisions before the Board of Supervisors in the first place. Supervisor Louis Boitano carried to rescind the previous motion to hold the contract in abeyance and reinstate the County’s agreement to approve the Contract for Conveyance of the Arroyo Ditch so Plymouth can return to its negotiations. The motion was supported by Supervisors Forster and Novelli. Oneto voted no and Plasse abstained. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Amador Water Agency early Tuesday lifted a request to conserve water in its Upcountry water system, and announced that power had been restored at a pump station. Customers of the Upcountry-area Amador Water System were requested to conserve water in order to stretch the water supply as officials worked into the night Monday to restore power. AWA Interim General Manager Gene Mancebo said at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday that the agency was “lifting the request for conservation,” and was able to get power restored on Monday night. He said due to some control problems, the agency was not able to start making water until some time Tuesday morning, but the plant at Buckhorn was making water early Tuesday. The pumps were reactivated to restore water flow from the Tiger Creek area to the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant, which serves about 4,000 customers in the Pine Grove and Mace Meadow areas. Mancebo said: “People did a fantastic job in conserving water (Monday), which really helped out,” and the AWA really appreciated that help from its customers. The water agency announced the loss of power early Monday, and requested water usage conservation from its Upcountry customers in the Amador Water System. The storm that struck the region Sunday knocked out power sometime Sunday night at the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant, Mancebo said, and sometime before 9 a.m. an outage deactivated the transfer pump that feeds the Buckhorn plant. An emergency backup generator kept the Buckhorn plant operating, but the pump, located in a remote area between the plant and the Tiger Creek area, was not immediately fixable. Mancebo said Pacific Gas & Electric Company on Monday was going to try to restore power with switching electricity flows around a fallen high-voltage line. He said the company had a 60,000-volt line down as a result of the storm. The agency was unsure when power would be restored, but various storage tanks in the Amador Water System had water. Mancebo said about 4,000 AWS customers in the Upcountry were affected and faced a potential loss of water, without the conservation. The Amador Water Agency board of directors has its next meeting 9 a.m. Thursday. Among the agenda items is discussion items is getting “emergency generators for the Tanner administration office and shop,” with discussion and direction regarding purchase and installation of emergency generators. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – With projected funding drops and already falling ridership, the Amador Regional Transportation System reduced or altered 16 bus routes last week. Executive Director James Means in a report to the ARTS board of directors November 30th said Amador County expected lower overall sales tax receipts, and County Auditor Joe Lowe expected a $150,000 drop in Local Transportation Funding. A ridership analysis showed the number of riders on ARTS busses decreasing for the second straight year, in the first 4 months of this fiscal year. October riders totaled 7,410, down more than 1,000 riders from the previous year and down nearly 3,000 riders from 2007-2008 reports. Similar drops in ridership occurred in each of the first 4 months this fiscal year. A performance summary by Gordon Shaw and LSC Consultants found that ARTS had an operating cost of $318,000 in the first quarter of the fiscal year, with revenue of about $60,000. With 19,665 total passengers, the cost per passenger in ARTS operation was $16.19 per rider, or $3.65 per mile and $75.99 per hour. The marketing department showed a projected income of $28,000 for its “Rolling Billboard” advertisement sales, based on $14,000 in actual sales the first week. ARTS publicist Terry Grillo estimated possible gross income for billboard sales at $64,000 to $70,000 for a year. Shaw of LSC recommended “service reductions in the attempt to streamline service, reduce inefficiencies and address the dramatic drop in Transit Development Plan funds.” Means and staff recommended implementing a service plan by Shaw as “the most reasonable option.” The reductions would eliminate 13 bus routes and portions of 4 others, and also would eliminate a “Reserve-a-Ride” program. The service plan would also expand the Americans with Disabilities Act “deviation” distance by ½ a mile, past the legally require ¾ of a mile. It will also impose a $2 charge for non-ADA deviation requests. The ARTS board approved all of the recommendations on a 6-0 vote. In another change last week, ARTS will still meet federal requirements for handicapped riders. Means proposed cutting 4 of 8 “shuttle routes” between Jackson and Sutter Creek, and “the 4 remaining Shuttle routes will continue operating as deviated fixed-route, providing highly specialized service” for major residential and business areas in Jackson and Sutter Creek. Daniel H. Brewer, Caltrans Chief of Rural Planning & Administration, said the deviated fixed route would satisfy federal requirements for a “para-transit plan” for bussing services. The board approved the changes 6-0. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.