Citing a changed direction at Amador Water Agency, general manager Jim Abercrombie resigned Monday.

Abercrombie, 54, will serve until Sept. 4, take the long holiday weekend and then assume the reins Sept. 8 as new general manager of El Dorado Irrigation District, based in Placerville. He has headed AWA staff for 12 years.

Regarding the issue of spending on system improvements and maintenance, a practice that can require regular user-rate increases, Abercrombie contrasted an agency approach during his tenure with what he sees as a differing approach to come.

"When I arrived, the agency was well-run and managed, but its assets needed replacing," Abercrombie said. "The board and staff identified a number of projects to be accomplished. For example, the Buckhorn treatment plant, the Amador transmission pipeline - which is hugely successful - and the (coming) Plymouth pipeline."

Last November, four new members took seats on the agency governing board.

"The new board was taking a direction I didn't believe was in the best interest of the agency," Abercrombie said. "For example, short-term, cost-cutting measures. Any manager can manage short-term, cost-cutting measures, but it's one of those issues - you have to maintain your system."

Abercrombie said an event during work on the Plymouth pipeline left a deep impression on him.

"In Amador City, a contractor found a piece of pipe that was so deteriorated it was being held together by tarpaper," he said. "No one likes to raise rates over time to pay for capital improvements, but demand builds up. The board needs to lay out a strategy on how to pay for infrastructure."

Abercrombie resides in Placerville.

EID governing board President George Wheeldon said, "We had 41 well-qualified applicants, and Jim clearly stands out in that excellent field," he said. "Jim's very knowledgeable about the water industry and the issues facing EID."

Abercrombie said EID is "a great opportunity."

"It's four times the size of Amador County," he said.

Abercrombie is recommending that the board appoint Gene Mancebo, the agency's manager of engineering and planning, to act as interim general manager until Abercrombie's position is filled.