Despite high hopes for a new 2 million gallon water tank that went into service earlier this month in Ione, residents are discovering that the water pressure is less than what they hoped for.

Amador Water Agency Board of Directors Chairman John Swift and operations manager Chris McKeage addressed the Ione City Council last week regarding the new tank and the lack of pressure some residents are experiencing.

"The Oak Ridge area is affected the most as we can see," said McKeage. "The city has been in separate zones, but we were hoping with the new tank it would condense them."

McKeage said that the water pressure in the areas usually ran around 45 to 50 pounds per square inch, but was now down to 35 to 40 PSI. This has forced the agency to reopen the Preston pump, something AWA had hoped to avoid. The PSI readings are varying throughout the city and residents were urged to contact AWA so the agency could get an accurate picture of where the problems lie.

"I wasn't able to get any water pressure in my shower this morning," said Councilman Jerry Sherman. "And the pressure is so low that my sprinkler heads aren't popping up to water the grass."

Swift stood before the council during the public comment section of the meeting to explain the problems the tank was having, answering questions that residents in attendance may have had. "Well, the reason I stood up was to ask about the water pressure, but I think that has been answered," said community member Dominic Atlan.

The tank was originally a requirement for Ryland Homes under the construction agreement for building the Wildflower subdivision adjacent to Howard Park. Ryland recently confirmed its closure of the company's northern California division, despite investing close to $2 million for the Ione water tank project. Ryland is now looking for a buyer for the Wildflower subdivision project.

"For the short term, we will have to reactivate the Preston pump," McKeage explained. "But in the long term, we want to decommission that pump. We are short of what the engineers projected for this project."