(Sutter Creek) How much water will Amador County need in the future? When will it be needed? Where will it come from? Amador Water Agency directors and an audience of engaged stakeholders grappled with the challenges of regional planning for future water and wastewater needs at the AWA board meeting Thursday.

In two separate motions, the Board voted to expand Agency public outreach to city and county governments to gather information and refine the Agency's projections for future water and wastewater needs in Amador County. The Water Agency does not make land use decisions, but is tasked with providing water services to customers for projects approved by cities and the county.

Introducing the first action, Manager of Engineering and Planning Gene Mancebo presented a preliminary estimate of future water demand, based on build-out projections in current city and county general plans. As part of the outreach effort, AWA staff will meet with city, county and LAFCO planners, compare estimates with past development and water use figures, and refine the information for use in on-going planning for future water supply and infrastructure needs.

It appears that the county will need additional water supplies to meet projected needs. Ultimately that demand for water will be met by a three-part "water portfolio," said Mancebo, that includes water conservation measures on the part of consumers and the Agency, wastewater reclamation and recycling, and new surface water supply projects.

In a related action, Agency staff will also meet with city and county decision-makers on the need to develop a regional wastewater reclamation (or recycling) plan. The Agency was successful in obtaining a $273,000 Sierra Nevada Conservancy grant to begin this effort. Regional wastewater planning would be a first step toward expanding the use of reclamation.

Keeping water supply options open was the rationale for Board approval to continue Agency participation in the Integrated Conjunctive Use Project (IRCUP). IRCUP is a joint water supply project being explored by AWA, Calaveras County Water District (CCWD), East Bay Municipal Utility District and the Mokelumne River Water & Power Authority (San Joaquin Co.).

The IRCUP concept includes capturing high water flows in the Mokelumne during winter and storing the additional water in a groundwater basin and/or in additional storage at Lower Bear River, Pardee or Duck Creek Reservoirs. The multi-agency study is designed to increase a firm water supply for Amador and Calaveras Counties, recharge groundwater in San Joaquin County and provide drought protection for EBMUD.

At the meeting, Jackson Valley Irrigation District director Hank Willey, CCWD board member Jeff Davidson and EBMUD Board vice president John Coleman all urged AWA's board to continue to study the IRCUP to obtain future surface water supply alternatives.

AWA Directors clarified that they supported the IRCUP, which includes studying an option to expand Pardee and/or Lower Bear Reservoirs, even though the Agency has formally opposed raising Pardee Dam as defined in EBMUD's 2040 Water Supply Management Plan.

In other matters:

- The Board unanimously supported examining the pros and cons of participating in the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority (ARSA). ARSA provides wastewater disposal services to Sutter Creek, Martell and Amador City through a joint powers agreement between the cities and Amador County. Past AWA boards have declined to participate in ARSA due to concerns over liability and other legal issues. Recently, however, the Agency and ARSA have each begun developing regional plans for wastewater treatment and recycling. Board members agreed that it was time to take another look at whether or not joining ARSA would benefit Agency ratepayers and promote county-wide water recycling.

- The Board authorized staff to file a Notice of Exemption and related environmental documents needed to install granulated activated carbon filtration at the Buckhorn Water Treatment Plant. The new system is effective in reducing organic compounds in drinking water and will enable the Agency to meet current and future state water quality regulations. The environmental documents are required in AWA's application for a state grant to pay for the new system.

- AWA staff will draft a letter to the Amador County Board of Supervisors suggesting that a Water and Wastewater Sub-element be added to the Economic Element of the county's General Plan Update. The section would consolidate the water and wastewater planning issues that are now found throughout the draft document.