The first item on Jackson City Council's agenda at its Monday night meeting was billed as an informational presentation by the Amador Water Agency, projected to take approximately 45 minutes. Two hours later, Mayor Rosalie Pryor-Escamilla wearily gaveled an end to an occasionally rancorous exchange.

AWA Manager of Engineering and Planning Gene Mancebo made the presentation, which described the activities of the agency, its present situation, plans and projections for the immediate and distant future.

In brief, the agency's water system presently uses 7,000 acre feet annually of its rights to 15,000 acre feet of water from the Mokelumne River. With the recently-completed pipeline bringing that water from Lake Tabeaud to Tanner Reservoir, leakage and evaporation have been eliminated. As a result, 8,000 acre feet is now available, enough water to serve up to 16,000 additional residences.

Upcountry, the Central Amador Water Project presently has rights to 1,150 acre feet per year and the agency has applied for an additional 1,050 acre feet. Assumptions based upon the 2,200 acre feet total show it to be possible to add 3,138 residences.

While these may appear to be large numbers, the agency forecasts that impending growth will still leave the county out of water by 2030.

Mancebo went on to outline anticipated costs to the agency for various projects. A gravity supply line from Tiger Creek Afterbay to the Buckhorn treatment plant would cost $12 million. The Plymouth Pipeline, which is well along its way to reality, has been estimated at $12 millione to $15 million. A new water treatment plant at Tanner Reservoir was included in the presentation at $23 million, but later in the meeting rose to $40 million, including interest. An intended Martell wastewater treatment plant came in between $16 million and $31 million. A treated wastewater pipeline to Jackson Valley, possible raising of the level of the dam at Lower Bear River Reservoir, a power generation plant at Bear River and participation in a regional plan to bank groundwater in San Joaquin County were not accompanied by cost estimates.

Wastewater treatment and effluent disposal remain unresolved issues. The agency hopes to solve many of the problems with an Amador Regional Sanitation Authority wastewater treatment plant that could not only deal with the wastewater but ultimately aid in provision of additional potable water. This could happen if there is a shift from use of drinking water to use of treated water for parks, fairgrounds, golf courses or agricultural purposes.

Following the presentation, Pryor-Escamilla opened the microphone to public comment. Jackson residents questioned Mancebo and AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie at length about the consequences to Jackson's water rates of the agency's projects. Bill Condrashoff asked what benefits would come to Jackson from the Plymouth Pipeline Project. Abercrombie replied that a countywide agency has to think of the entire county and everyone's needs, while warning of explosive costs for wastewater solutions looming in the next five years.

The presentation being purely informational, no council action was taken.