Calling all student artists: 2021 Poster Contest
The Irvine Ranch Water District is accepting student entries for the 2021 Water Awareness Poster Contest. The Water Awareness Poster Contest is a wonderful opportunity for children and young adults to learn about the importance of water, and express their ideas through art. Over the years, Orange County students have taken a closer look at our most precious natural resource – water – and discovered for themselves how access to clean, fresh drinking water improves our daily lives.
The Poster Contest is open to all Orange County students. All hand-drawn artwork should reflect this year’s theme: Save Together. The theme was selected to get students thinking about our most valuable natural resource – water – and how working together to save it is vital for our way of life. Students kindergarten through 12th grade are eligible.
To inspire students to take part in the contest, the IRWD water efficiency team has put together some tips on saving water.
Water Efficiency Specialist Joseph Baquerizo: Set timers and reminders! Pick your favorite shower song (ideally not “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”) and finish your shower as the song comes to an end.
Water Efficiency Intern David Gomez: Keep your ears open for phantom flushing or hissing noises coming from your bathroom. Running/leaking toilets can lead to an excessive waste of water and are among the most common indoor water leaks. Watch IRWD's "How to Check your Toilet for Leaks" video.
Water Efficiency Supervisor Nola Hastings: Learn what plants are native to Southern California and avoid planting non-native, thirsty plants. Visit CalScape.org to check out the plant database.
Find out more details, including contest rules and entry submission process, at IRWD.com/postercontest.
Recognizing the role of the San Joaquin Marsh
The District has long been committed to protecting the environment through effective water and resource management. Protecting, sustaining and revitalizing the environment matters to IRWD and we have demonstrated this longstanding commitment to environmental sustainability through a variety of innovative water management programs including urban runoff reduction and treatment at the San Joaquin Marsh, which encompasses more than 300 acres of coastal freshwater wetlands. In addition to providing a valuable open space oasis and wildlife habitat for the community, the working wetlands help naturally clean the urban runoff from San Diego Creek, removing up to 70 percent of the nitrogen carried in the water, helping to protect the environmentally sensitive Upper Newport Bay.
Modeled after the San Joaquin Marsh, the IRWD Natural Treatment System is a series of smaller, man-made wetlands located throughout the IRWD service area. These wetlands naturally remove contaminants from urban runoff in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner. Both the Natural Treatment System and the San Joaquin Marsh help IRWD protect the environment through the treatment of natural dry-weather runoff.
The Sea & Sage Audubon has been an outstanding partner to IRWD. Through the years, we’ve made great strides in educating residents of Orange County. Our collaborative programs and activities are designed to increase public appreciation and awareness of the beauty and diversity of wildlife in the San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary.
Learn more at IRWD.com.
Photo: IRWD Board Member Peer Swan surveys the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in 2005.
Customers, take our hazard mitigation survey
Local governments, including water districts, are required to have an approved hazard mitigation plan to be eligible for FEMA hazard mitigation funds. Please take 10 minutes to submit answers to a survey on what is important to you and how you would like to see the District become more resilient. Visit IRWD.com/lhmp.
Easier Bill Pay is Here
Coming in February, IRWD will begin using a new bill payment system with no fees, and with flexible online and mobile options our customers have asked for.
You will be able to pay by credit card (including American Express), PayPal, Venmo, and text from almost any device. And it’s free—unlike our current service, which charges $2.95 per transaction.
The new service is intuitive and userfriendly, with easy navigation and a direct link to IRWD’s WaterInsight reports, where you can track your home water usage and see how you compare to your neighbors. WaterInsight will send email alerts if your water use indicates a possible leak, and provide tips to save water based on your use patterns. These services will simplify your life and help you save money, water, and time.
If you prefer a more traditional payment method, checks can still be mailed, or deposited in our drop box at 15600 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine.
For more information, visit PayMyBill.IRWD.com.
IRWD Celebrates 60 Years of Value
Irvine Ranch Water District is 60 years old — and we all have a lot to celebrate!
IRWD’s long history of creative leadership and hallmark programs has ushered in a legacy of value for our customers, including low, stable rates, a diverse and highly reliable water supply and highly rated customer service.
Irvine Ranch Water District was formed on Jan. 23, 1961, under the provisions of the California Water District Act within the California Water Code, in response to the increasing water needs of our region. IRWD initially served mostly agricultural customers. We were created to secure a water supply from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for home use and irrigation. The District’s boundaries encompassed 60 square miles, roughly from the Santa Ana Freeway to the San Joaquin Hills. Today, IRWD Today, IRWD provides drinking water, sewage collection and recycled water to more than 425,000 residential customers and a daytime population of more than 600,000, in an area spanning 181 square miles from the foothills to coastal Orange County. Our customers live in Irvine, parts of Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange and Tustin, plus unincorporated areas.
Please join us throughout 2021 as we travel back through time and commemorate the people and unique programs that make IRWD what it is today. Watch this space on IRWD.com/liquid-news, and read your monthly Pipelines newsletter, delivered by mail or email with your water bill.
And thank YOU for helping make this an efficient, water-smart community.
Photo: A view of the Michelson Water Recycling Plant construction in the 1960s.
