Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) = - Jerry Budrick=20

Bruce Lockhart, who has managed Amador = Lake=20 Resort in Ione for the past 36 years, is pictured next to the = resort's=20 swimming pond, which was closed this summer because of high levels = of=20 contamination.

Photo by: Bethany A. = Monk

A child fishes out of Jackson Creek = during last=20 month's annual kids' fishing tournament, sponsored by the local = merchants'=20 association.

Photo by: Scott Thomas=20 Anderson
Lake Amador is down to 50 = percent of its=20 volume, according to the Lake Amador Resort manager Bruce Lockhart. =

It's=20 one of the driest years he's seen in 36 years working at the resort, so = dry that=20 he "could spit more than (it rained in) March."

The lake, located = near=20 Ione, gets nearly all of its water from the Jackson Creek. Water in = Jackson=20 Creek is part rainwater and part treated water from the Jackson = wastewater=20 treatment plant.

Lockhart said that the county health department = recently=20 closed down the swimming pond, one of the resort's major attractions, = because of=20 the pond's high levels of bacteria. The swimming pond gets its water = from Lake=20 Amador, a popular fishing spot, where swimming is not allowed. Not only = is the=20 resort's business suffering, he said - several people had canceled their = trips=20 to the resort after learning of the pond's closure in early summer - but = Lockhart's concerned that people may come in contact with the creek = water in the=20 Pine Grove and Jackson areas. "Kids might rub their eyes" after playing = near or=20 fishing in the creek, he said, and come in contact with=20 bacteria.

Lockhart recognizes the cleanliness of the treated = water=20 released from the wastewater treatment plant. His contention is that the = polluted rainwater from above Jackson causes the high bacteria counts. = "The=20 water (from the treatment plant) enters Jackson Creek OK, but it mixes = with the=20 creek and immediately gets polluted," Lockhart said.

According to = lab=20 results Lockhart obtained from Sierra Foothill Laboratory Inc., there = are high=20 levels of both fecal coliform and E.coli bacteria present in the creek = between=20 Pine Grove and Jackson. Sierra Foothill Laboratory did not return calls = for=20 comment.

Terry Watson, Jackson superintendent of public works, = told the=20 Ledger Dispatch Wednesday that the high levels of bacteria in the Pine = Grove and=20 Jackson areas of the creek are most likely the result of the presence of = both=20 cattle and sheep on ranches in that area. There are no safeguards = against=20 animals defecating into the creek, he said.

The flow of creek = water just=20 uphill of the Jackson wastewater treatment plant has been negligible = lately,=20 Watson added, noting the lack of rainfall this year. There is also a = mysterious=20 loss of Jackson Creek flow between Ross Bridge, with its cubic foot per = second,=20 and the Cipriani Bridge, farther downstream, where the flow drops by=20 half.

The four-month period from March through June 2008 was the = driest=20 on record in the Northern Sierra. Only 3.4 inches of rainfall was = received -=20 this equates to about 25 percent of the average rainfall in the = area.

It=20 is generally believed that some of the flow in Jackson Creek comes from = leakage=20 in the Amador Canal. Although the Amador Transmission Pipeline, which = now=20 delivers water from Lake Tabeaud to Tanner Reservoir, has been put into=20 operation, some water still flows in the Amador Canal and will continue = to do so=20 until the planned small diameter pipes are installed. At this time, the=20 predicted desiccation from de-watering the canal can not be held = responsible for=20 the lack of flow in Jackson Creek.

The wastewater treatment plant = releases about 500,000 gallons of water into the Jackson Creek daily = with no=20 certainty that the water makes it all the way down into Lake Amador, = according=20 to Watson.

The water treatment removes all coliform and E. coli = by=20 chlorination. The chlorine is then removed prior to discharge into the = creek.=20 Still, Lockhart isn't happy with the situation.

"If this water is = so=20 polluted, why aren't there any warning signs on Highway 88 from Jackson = to Pine=20 Grove?" he said. "They can shut my pond down, but they don't have any = signs up=20 where kids play in the creek."

The creek level didn't stop the = Historic=20 Jackson Merchant Business Association from holding its annual kids' = fishing=20 tournament, which took place in late July. The event, planned by kids = for kids,=20 according to association member Kam Merzlak, brought more than 30 = children out=20 to the walking bridge area of the creek in Jackson for a day of catch = and=20 release fishing.

The creek's water level was a lot lower than = last year,=20 Merzlak said, adding that water "was very sparse. There wasn't much = there." The=20 kids still had fun, he said, and collectively caught more than 100 fish = during=20 the event.

"It's good for them to do things like that," he said,=20 referring to being outdoors instead of inside playing video = games.

When=20 asked if the low water levels in the creek may be of concern, as far as=20 increasing the chance of contamination, Merzlak said, "I imagine there = would=20 probably be some issues there."

The county's department of = environmental=20 health did not return calls for comment.

Bethany A. = Monk