Water conservation mandates and small community wastewater systems were the subjects of Thursday's Amador Water Agency Board meeting.

Eligibility for state grants and loans is now conditioned on the Agency's compliance with new state-mandated water conservation measures. The state goal? To reduce per capita water use by 20 percent by the year 2020.

Consultant Leslie Dumas of RMC Water and Environment presented details and cost estimates on 14 Best Management Practices (BMPs) for water conservation that the Agency must adopt to be eligible for state grants and loans, important funding sources for AWA infrastructure projects.

These BMPs include rebates for high efficiency plumbing fixtures and washing machines, mandatory water metering, tiered water rates, water audits and leak repairs for customers and for the Agency system, a conservation coordinator for the agency, public information and school education programs, incentives for large users to conserve, and ordinances prohibiting water wasting.

The Agency must demonstrate progress toward implementing all 14 BMPs when applying for any state water project grant or loan.

Directors will have to wrestle with how to pay for new activities, rebates and incentives at a time when the Amador Water Agency has cut operating costs from its current budget and recently reduced rate increases. On the other hand, water conservation efforts could save the agency money by reducing the need for new water supplies, reducing the amount of water treatment needed and lowering energy costs.

The Water Agency has previously identified conservation as being one way to meet future water needs for Amador County. Other alternatives include use of recycled water and water supply projects

Directors asked staff to fine-tune the draft plan and cost estimates before scheduling a public workshop to receive input from the public on the proposed water conservation plan.

Also at Thursday's meeting AWA Interim Manager of Engineering and Planning Erik Christeson presented the Board with an overview of the nine wastewater systems in the Agency's Wastewater Improvement District #1.

The nine systems serve between 5 and 114 customers each for a total of 406 customers in the Improvement District. Each system includes one or more leach fields for final disposal of the wastewater.

The Agency operates, maintains and performs state mandated inspections, tests and reporting for each system. The small number of ratepayers on each system makes it difficult for the systems to support themselves financially. The Water Agency consolidated these nine systems to stabilize rates and spread costs over a larger customer base.

Annual costs to operate and maintain the Improvement District is running about $75,000 per year in the red, reported Christeson. Of the nine systems, six are in need of repairs and/or require additional staff time to operate the systems. Staff will investigate and prioritize the needed repairs and make a presentation to the Board next year prior to preparing the budget.

AWA broke ground on a new leach field and related repairs for the Gayla Manor system on Thursday after the Board meeting. Work for the Gayla Manor System will be completely paid by economic stimulus grants funding.

The presentation was a discussion item in preparation for a rate hearing on Wastewater Improvement District #1, scheduled by the Board of Directors for October 29.

In other news:

Also at the October 22nd Board meeting, AWA directors approved $20,000 in emergency reserve funds for grading to correct a stormwater runoff problem near the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant's backwash pond before the onset of winter rains. Stormwater diversion improvements were made at the backwash pond, located at Mace Meadow Golf and Country Club, during the summer of 2007. Since that time someone unknown to the agency moved earth near the backwash pond, altering the grade near the pond and putting the Agency in jeopardy of being fined by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.