California’s drought conditions have led Governor Brown and individual water districts to call for conservation efforts on the part of all water users, and Californians are responding. The result? Amador Water Agency Board of Directors Thursday directed the general manager to look for cost savings in the current year budget, and they voted to freeze all unbudgeted expenses not related to grants and loans.
“Less water used means less water sold and less revenue collected; less revenue collected means less money coming in to operate and maintain our water systems,” said District 1 Director Paul Molinelli. “It doesn’t occur to many people that much of the cost to deliver water to our customers remains the same, even when customers are cutting back on their water use.”
Amador Water Agency customers, along with the rest of the state, have been asked to voluntarily reduce water use by 20 percent. Agency staff and Directors will be monitoring revenues closely over the next few months to gauge how conservation is affecting revenues at AWA.
Though the drought remains a concern for Agency managers, recent rains have improved AWA’s water supplies in the Sierras, reported General Manager Gene Mancebo at Thursday’s meeting. Mancebo recently met with PG&E officials on the status of the reservoirs owned by PG&E that store Amador County’s water supply. March rain and snow have dramatically increased water in the reservoirs.
At this point, PG&E water managers predict that AWA’s water allotment will not be reduced this year due to the drought, and so far, state regulators have not issued any reductions, or “curtailments” on water rights.
Directors received further good news at Thursday’s meeting from an independent financial auditor. Auditor Michael Zizzi of Leaf & Cole summarized the Agency’s 2012-2013 audit report, commending the Agency on a financial picture that has greatly improved over the past three years, increasing reserves and stabilizing the Agency.
“The Amador Water Agency has been headed in the right direction since 2011,” said District 3 Director Rich Farrington. “Customers should be grateful to staff and to the Board members who brought the Agency back from the brink of bankruptcy,” he said, referring to fellow Directors Paul Molinelli, Art Toy, Robert Manassero and Gary Thomas.
In other Amador Water Agency news:
Amador Water Agency Directors received a very pleasant surprise in the form of a check for over $24,000 from the Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority. The windfall was a refund due to the Water Agency’s excellent safety record and infrequent insurance losses. The Agency has had zero workplace accidents or injuries for this entire fiscal year.
“Everyone at the Water Agency is committed to a strong safety culture,” said Board President Toy. “It’s great to be rewarded with this refund and with lower insurance rates in the future.”