IRWD’s Water Efficiency Department recently hosted its annual Fix-a-Leak Workshop, inviting customers to browse several booths to get one-on-one time with IRWD staff about finding and fixing leaks in their home, along with billing and leak adjustments information. 

Irvine Ranch Water District has received its third District Transparency Certificate of Excellence from the Special District Leadership Foundation — recognizing years of outstanding public engagement, ethical leadership and openness.

IRWD received its first three-year certification in 2018, and its second in 2021. This year’s certificate will carry the District into 2027.

To receive the award, IRWD demonstrated completion of essential transparency requirements, including ethics training for all board members, properly conducting open public meetings, and filing financial transactions and compensation reports to the State Controller in a timely manner.

The Special District Leadership Foundation created the certificate program to promote public transparency and give agencies an opportunity to showcase their methods for engaging with the public and keeping them informed. Key information about IRWD can be found in the Transparency Center under the About Us tab on this website.

Every year, IRWD hosts a poster contest for students in grades kindergarten through 12th. Students are asked to create a poster that shows how to use water wisely at home, school, business or in agriculture, or show how saving water can help the environment.

Posters are selected based on the originality and clarity of the message as well as the artistic level and the overall uniqueness. The posters are judged within grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12, so everyone has a chance to win! 

IRWD's first round winners

These finalists will be honored by IRWD with a certificate, special gift, and a chance to be published in the IRWD coloring book.

Next round 

IRWD finalists have been submitted to regional competitions for a chance to win an iPad from Municipal Water District of Orange County and/or be published in the annual calendar produced by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. See the 2024 calendar.

Go to IRWD.com/postercontest for more details about the annual contest and to see previous years' winners.

Give some love to biodiversity with your own native pollinator garden

Native plants and pollinators depend on each other for survival — each one struggling to live without the other. Sadly, both populations are in decline.

Native plants rely on indigenous birds, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other species to reproduce; while native pollinators depend on naturally occurring plants for food, shelter, and to support their natural lifecycle.

You can help restore their numbers by adding California native plants to your landscape. Even a native plant potted on your porch can help.

Go to calscape.org to search for plants native to our Orange County climate. Many native seeds, available online, will still germinate even when planted in late winter. For potted varieties, a list of local native plant nurseries can be found at IRWD.com/landscape. Be sure to check out Episode 1 of IRWD’s Shed Show series for some entertaining tips at IRWD.com/shedshow.

Native pollinator gardens make a beeautiful addition to any landscape, and once established, they require very little irrigation. Plant yours to help nature and save water.

This article was originally published in Pipelines, IRWD's monthly customer newsletter. Read more and sign up for other newsletters