Published: Apr 12, 2012 | 21:09 PM

IRWD Recycled Water Use Recognized by WateReuse California

Irvine Ranch Water District and its customers received three awards from the WateReuse Association’s California Section at the annual conference held in Sacramento.  Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine was presented with a Recycled Water Customer of the Year Award, Satoru Tamaribuchi of the Irvine Company received a Lifetime Achievement Award and Mark Tettemer from IRWD was given the President’s Award.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the industry,” Tettemer said.  “Beyond the success we’ve been able to achieve in our service area, it’s been a pleasure to work with WateReuse California to further our collective goal to increase the use of recycled water – the most reliable source of water we have.”

Crean Lutheran High School

IRWD nominated Crean Lutheran High School for the Recycled Water Customer of the Year honor. Crean Lutheran is a private high school with two unique dual-plumbed buildings that serve more than 500 students and 30 staff members. The school was constructed differently than other dual-plumbed buildings because the two-story modular classroom dual-plumbed building was constructed in numerous sections in Perris, California, then brought to the Irvine location and assembled.

In addition to the modular classroom building, a dual-plumbed Sprung (temporary) structure, which houses the gym, was built.

Crean Lutheran High School was the first high school in the IRWD service area and possibly the State of California to use recycled water for toilets, urinals and priming floor drains in its buildings. The use of recycled water for its nine acres of landscaped area, combined with the recycled water used in the dual-plumbed buildings save more than 10 million gallons of drinking water per year.

Satoru Tamaribuchi

Spending 35 years at The Irvine Company as Vice President Environmental Affairs and as environmental issues manager, Sat Tamaribuchi led efforts to address water resources and environmental issues for the company. He recognized the importance of a reliable supply of water to development and he and the company became supporters of water recycling and water conservation. They worked cooperatively with IRWD to help develop both programs.

During Tamaribuchi’s tenure, The Irvine Company played a key role in completing several recycled water projects including:

• Recycled water to irrigate company retail, office, industrial, resort and residential projects;
• Developing the first and second dual-plumbed high rise office buildings in California which went on-line in 1991 and 1992;
• Using recycled water to irrigate front and backyards at individual residences at large developments, including Shady Canyon and Pelican Hills. IRWD now serves more than 500 such homes in those developments;
• Using recycled water in cooling towers serving office buildings;
• IRWD’s expansion of its Michelson Water Recycling Plant in Irvine; and
• Conversion of approximately 1,000 acres of agricultural land to recycled water.

IRWD estimates that Irvine Company properties use approximately 6,000 acre-feet per year of recycled water. The company has been and continues to be an important partner to IRWD in the implementation and growth of the District’s extensive recycled water programs.

 Mark Tettemer

Tettemer, the Recycled Water Development Manager for IRWD, has worked for the District for more than seven years. He has been instrumental in expanding the use of recycled water in the District’s service area. In 2011, Tettemer led a variety of projects, including:

• Conversion of a water distribution pipeline from untreated imported water to recycled water, including working with several large nursery and agricultural customers to convert their operations to recycled water. The project was completed on June 8, 2011 resulting in approximately 1,800 acre-feet of additional recycled water use per year;
• Conversion of a gas-to-energy facility from potable to recycled water use in their cooling towers. The site was converted on February, 10, 2011 and uses more than 120 acre-feet per year;
• Working with local schools to develop upcoming dual-plumbed campus buildings.

Tettemer was recently re-elected to his fourth term as President of the Orange County chapter of WateReuse California.

For more information about IRWD recycled water programs, please visit our website.