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AWA Board Approves Loan to Wastewater ID#1

Although ratepayers have expressed concerns about accurately accounting for funds, the Directors are continuing the practices that have resulted in AWA’s current financial uncertainty. More

AWA Board Suspends Wastewater Increase, Avoids Prop 218

On June 28, 2012, the AWA Board voted to suspend, rather than eliminate, a 9% rate increase to Wastewater ID#1 customers. This allows the Board to simply increase the rate by up to 9% at any time without following the Proposition 218 process. More

About Prop 218

Proposition 218 allows ratepayers to protest water rate increases. If a majority of ratepayers protest an increase, the rates cannot be raised. Ratepayers do have the ultimate say in whether their rates will go up or not.
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Success Stories

Read about local ratepayers who have successfully protested rate increases.
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Jackson Council Considering 94% Sewer Rate Increase

The Jackson City Council is planning to raise Sewer rates for its residential customers by 94% and they have approved a rate study that increases rates 5 times over 3.5 years. Residential monthly charges will go from the current $29.35 to $57.05 in 2018. The increase amounts to $332/year per household. Some commercial rates will more than quadruple over the 3.5-year period.

The City plans to upgrade the plant to meet current state requirements. The population in Jackson has decreased every year since 2010. In spite of the population decrease, the City will be building 50% more capacity into the facility than current customers use. The City has not analyzed costs to only upgrade the plant to satisfy the needs of its current customers. There is no plan to reimburse residents and businesses for the additional capacity that they would pay through the increased rates.

The City mailed rate notices in August. The notice is unclear as to the date of the hearing; in one place it says the hearing is on October 14th and in another place it says the hearing is on October 18th . The notice had other contradictions that could leave the reader confused. The City has since extended the deadline for protests to October 28th.

If a majority of the City’s customers and property owners protest the increase on or before October 28th, the rates cannot be increased. RPA is distributing a fact sheet with protest form to help ratepayers understand how they are being overcharged. To volunteer your time or to make a monetary contribution to stop the increase, please contact RPA.

Jackson Sewer Protest

City of Jackson Releases Draft Environmental Impact Report on Wastewater Project

The City has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) to address the specific environmental effects of implementing the City of Jackson Wastewater Treatment Plan Improvement project that may require up to an 80% wastewater rate increase. The DEIR is available online here.

A 30-day public review period will be provided to receive comments on the adequacy of the Draft EIR. The comment period will start on July 27, 2012, and end on August 27, 2012. Written comments should be sent to: Mike Daly, Planner, City of Jackson, 33 Broadway, Jackson, CA 95642. Phone: 209-223-1646 Email: mdaly@ci.jackson.ca.us

A public meeting to receive comments will be held before the Jackson City Council on August 27, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. at 33 Broadway in Jackson. All comments will be addressed in the Final EIR which will be released for Council approval later this year.

Jackson faces a deadline in October to have a plan for dealing with State-mandated requirements for the sewer plant. At least part of the reason for the last-minute action is a key report whose conclusion was reversed by the DEIR. The faulty report led the Council to focus the project studies on an alternative that may require an 80% rate increase.

Wastewater Service Areas

The Amador Water Agency owns and operates several different wastewater systems in various areas throughout Amador County, including:

Click on the map below for a detailed view, including city wastewater management systems not managed by AWA (Jackson, Ione, Amador City, Plymouth & Sutter Creek - noted in gold on the map). AWA Wastewater System Map