Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors got an update on its Gravity Supply Line last week.

Agency General Manager Gene Mancebo said staff is working on a communications plan, a presentation, and revisions to the Central Amador Water Project financial plans, and is preparing to bid the Gravity Supply Pipe project. He said staff would like to set up small-group settings to talk about the pipeline around Upcountry, in “coffeehouse” meetings.

Part of the meetings would be to explain about the CAWP system, what it is, and who it serves. He said they would also use the small groups to get feedback and find out what people think about the plans, and bring information back to the AWA board.

Mancebo said the new communications plan was discussed and reviewed in the agency Public Relations Committee, made up of Vice Chairman Gary Thomas and Director Robert Manassero.

A “CAWP customer priority survey” to be used, in part, said “pump stations that raise water from the Mokelumne River are approximately 35 years old, at the end of their useful life, operating beyond their design, and will need to be replaced with new pumps or a gravity supply pipeline.” It asked respondents to choose between buying new pumps for the CAWP system or paying for construction of the GSL. It also asked how much more people would be willing to add to their current water rates.

Another question said “CAWP customers have had no increase in water rates in four-and-a-half years,” and now “the CAWP system is running in the red,” and “reserve funds for repairs and improvements are depleted.” It asked what the customer would be willing to add to its water rate to “cover the current costs of operating the CAWP system and rebuild a reserve fund.”

It asked the same question about the cost of improving water pressure and adding fire hydrants in the CAWP system, to improve systems built in the 1960s and 1970s “to much lower standards than today’s,” with smaller pipes, lower water pressure and few hydrants.

Engineering Manager Erik Christeson said all but one private easement along the GSL route had been successfully negotiated, and title paperwork was in process. The last to be negotiated was recently sold, but the agency already has a 20-foot utility easement there, which it could use if needed.

He said all non-private easement talks are also under way and scheduled to be completed by late April, except for PG&E, but it was not expected to cause a delay.

He said work was on schedule for a May 24 bid opening on the GSL. Story by

Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.