Water conservation and strict new state requirements for state grants and loans were the subject of a special meeting of the Amador Water Agency directors on Thursday.

Eligibility for state grants and loans is now conditioned on the agency's compliance with state-mandated water conservation measures. The state goal? To reduce per capita water use by 20 percent by the year 2020. The state goal includes residential, commercial and industrial potable water use, and does not factor in agricultural water use.

Leslie Dumas of RMC Water and Environment, a consultant for the agency, presented details on the 14 Best Management Practices for water conservation developed by the California Urban Water Conservation Council, that are now the basis for the state's water conservation effort.

These BMPs include a conservation coordinator for the agency, public information and school education programs, rebates for high efficiency plumbing fixtures and washing machines, mandatory water metering, tiered water rates, water audits for customers and for the Agency system, incentives for large users, and ordinances prohibiting water wasting. The agency must demonstrate progress toward implementing all 14 BMPs when applying for any state water project grant or loan.

AWA Board President Terry Moore said that agency directors support water conservation efforts and aren't motivated solely by the new requirements for state money. Moore said that stepped-up water conservation efforts would save the agency money by reducing the amount of water treatment needed and lowering energy costs.

On the other hand, District 1 Director Bill Condrashoff noted, "The less water we use, the more we pay," referring to the impact a 20 percent reduction in water sales would have on the Agency tasked with providing county-wide water infrastructure and maintenance, regardless of how much water is used.

Directors will also have to wrestle with how to pay for new activities, rebates and incentives at a time when the Amador Water Agency has cut over $600,000 in operating costs from its current budget and recently reduced rate increases.

Katherine Evatt, representing the Foothill Conservancy, called conservation "the least expensive, most reliable source of new water" for the county's future and said she was very happy with the direction of the agency's water conservation planning.

Directors Don Cooper and Debbie Dunn volunteered to form an ad hoc committee to develop a formal water conservation policy statement for consideration by the full board in August. Another public workshop will be held later this summer to review and take public comment on a draft plan for addressing the 14 required water conservation BMPs.