The Amador Water Agency released a revised mission statement last week in an effort to show an awareness of what it termed "growing water issues in the county and a dedication to teaching water conservation and recycling practices throughout the county."

In a special meeting of the board of directors Wednesday afternoon, the agency reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of its strategic plan for 2008-13, AWA core values, what is going well and what isn't, along with the challenges they face.

"This is an update as opposed to a whole new plan," said AWA General Manager Jim Abercrombie after the meeting. "We had a decent turnout, but would like more input from the public and the cities."

AWA board and staff discussed the working relationships within the agency with trends in the industry, a work session regarding strategic planning issues and an update of the five-year plan followed by closure and the next steps. "Conservation and recycling are now in focus," Abercrombie said of the future. "We've added those into our mission statement and want to take the show on the road to educate the cities and communities on these important issues."

Abercrombie said that, although the agency sent out packets and reminders for the meeting to all city and county officials as well as the Local Agency Formation Commission, the only attendees in an official capacity were Ione City Manager Kim Kerr and Debbie Dunn, chairwoman of the Amador County Recreation Agency.

"We are going to start the process of getting out for public input," Abercrombie said. "The PowerPoint presentation we did in Ione and for (the General Plan Advisory committee) is useful and informative."

Abercrombie added that the need for more public comment and education is vital as conservation, recycling and regional wastewater concerns are very real in a county anticipating a potential water crisis by the year 2030. "The board said, 'Hey, let's take this message on the road,'" Abercrombie explained. "It's up to the cities and county whether they want to participate, but it is in the best interest."

Kerr, who attended the Wednesday meeting, said her personal opinion is that the agency needs to bring in the stakeholders to discuss the strategic plan before adoption to assure that other entities and the public understand where they are headed. "AWA has been willing to discuss their plans and exchange information with the city of Ione, but there is always room for improvement for communication between agencies." she said via e-mail.

As far as the agency, it has set goals to increase the water conservation efforts and concentrate on recycling for the long-term water supply, as well as conduct public outreach to communicate the long-term planning strategies. The next presentation will be made in February at the LAFCO meeting.

Said Abercrombie, "Most people tend to expect things like electricity, utilities or water to always be there. They take it for granted, thinking the agency or cities will take care of it. If we aren't getting the public input, well then, we are taking it on the road."