What a Water Year It Was
IRWD works hard to see that our customers get the best in drinking water, recycled water and sewer services. To that end, we seek out innovative and cost-effective ways to improve on what we do. Here are some of the District’s top accomplishments for 2018.
Drinking water: We secured a $67.5 million grant from the California Water Commission to enhance water banking projects in Kern County, which serve as emergency water supplies for our customers.
Recycled water: We provided recycled water to irrigate public landscape, saving more than 10 billion gallons of drinking water. We helped U.C. Irvine convert campus cooling towers to recycled water, which will save 80 million gallons of drinking water per year. We achieved our milestone 100th dual-plumbed commercial building, in which toilets are flushed with recycled water.
Water education: More than 6,000 elementary and middle-school students participated in water-related assemblies, programs and field trips sponsored by IRWD with Discovery Cube and Sea & Sage Audubon.
Sustainability: We installed a network of high-efficiency Tesla batteries at District facilities to reduce energy costs by $500,000 a year.
What’s on tap for 2019? Major initiatives include programs to secure water supplies and expand sewage treatment capacity—plus ongoing implementation of water education and water efficiency programs.
Recycled Water, Green Communities
This is drought country. So how do we keep your faucets flowing while keeping the community so green and beautiful? In a fast-paced new video, real IRWD employees take you behind the scenes—showing how they transform your used water into recycled water for landscape irrigation and other surprising uses. Watch at irwd.com/services/recycled-water.
2019 Water Efficiency Challenge
The New Year is a time of renewal and reflection. For 2019, the IRWD Water Efficiency team encourages you to learn new ways to save. Here are a few of their ideas.
Amy McNulty, WE manager: Run an irrigation system check in your yard. Turn on all sprinkler stations to make sure the system is operating properly and that no irrigation lines or sprinklers are broken.
Melody Seesangrit, WE specialist: When shopping for toilets, showerheads, bathroom faucets, irrigation controllers, or spray sprinkler bodies, look for the WaterSense label. WaterSense-labeled products are backed by independent, third-party certification, and meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s specifications for water efficiency and performance.
Luis Genis, WE specialist: Find the master shut-off valve for your home. Getting to it quickly will prevent damage and save water in an emergency.
Nola Hastings, WE supervisor: Go outside and get to know the plants in your garden so you can water them appropriately. In Southern California, about 50% of our water use is outdoors. Often we water too much.
Joey Baquerizo, WE specialist: Are your neighbors giving you the stink eye because your sprinklers are overspraying, watering the cement, or too old to be adjusted? Then change those old, inefficient sprinkler heads! You might qualify for a rebate. Check our list of rebate-eligible rotating spray nozzles, RightScapeNow.com/rebates/residential-rebates.
Michael Le, WE specialist: Collect a full load of laundry before washing your clothes. Save water and energy!
Allan Pascual, senior WE specialist: Find a car wash with a reclaimed-water system. (Some advertise on their signs, online, or in local papers.) Such car washes capture the final cycle of water, process it, treat it, and reuse it. A normal car wash requires about 50 gallons of fresh water, but a good reclaimedwater system can cut that to 10, with 40 gallons of reused water.
$32,000 in ACWA Scholarships Available in 2019
As a member of the Association of California Water Agencies, Irvine Ranch Water District is proud to share several ACWA scholarship opportunities for high-achieving graduate or undergraduate students majoring in a water resources-related field.
- The Stephen K. Hall ACWA Water Law & Policy Scholarship ($10,000) is awarded annually to one graduate student majoring in law, policy or public administration with a focus or concentration in California water resources. This scholarship was created in 2007 to honor former ACWA Executive Director Steve Hall upon his retirement.
- ACWA Scholarships ($3,500) are awarded to two undergraduate students majoring in engineering, agricultural and/or urban water supply, environmental studies, public administration and other water-resources related fields.
- The Clair Hill Scholarship ($5,000) is awarded to one student majoring in engineering, agricultural and/or urban water supply, environmental studies, public administration and other water-resources related fields.
- The Ted and Nancy Way Scholarship for the Next Generation of Water Leaders ($5,000) is awarded to two undergraduate students majoring in engineering, agricultural and/or urban water supply, environmental studies, fisheries science and other waterresources related fields. This scholarship was created in 2017 by Ted Way, a long-time water leader and former ACWA Water Quality Committee Member, and his wife Nancy.
All scholarship applications must be submitted online by March 1. For a complete list of qualification and eligibility requirements, as well as a link to the online application system, please visit ACWA’s scholarships page online at www.acwa.com/about/scholarships. For more information, please contact ACWA at (916) 441-4545 or scholarships@acwa.com.
Project Wins Public-Private Partnership Award
Irvine Ranch Water District’s award-winning Energy Storage Project, which will save water customers half a million dollars a year, has earned another prestigious prize for public-private partnership, the District announced today.
The Orange County Business Council presented its Best Public-Private Partnership Award to the project, honoring collaboration between the District, Macquarie Capital, Advanced Microgrid Solutions and Southern California Edison.
Macquarie Group is owner and operator of the energy storage system, which when built was the largest energy storage system for on-site power in the United States. The project was designed and is maintained by AMS, and uses AMS’s industry-leading transactive energy management platform to produce the most efficient, reliable and cost-effective system possible.
The 6.25 MW/35.7 MWh network of high-efficiency lithium batteries — installed at 6 water treatment, recycling and pumping facilities throughout Irvine Ranch Water District — allows IRWD to buy and store electricity when rates are low, then use that energy to power operations during peak hours when rates are high.
Projected to save the District $500,000 or more in energy costs annually with no upfront investment, the installation also provides a source of stored power for Southern California Edison to tap when necessary to avoid service interruptions. Renewable energy is being incorporated into the project for even more economic and environmental benefits.
One of the largest installations of its kind in the United States, the project addresses an underlying challenge in the water industry: the water-energy nexus.
By harnessing renewable energy sources, reducing demand on the power grid and saving money on the electricity needed to deliver water to customers, IRWD, Macquarie Capital, Advanced Microgrid Solutions and Southern California Edison have teamed up on a project that fully addresses this concept.
“Through these partnerships, IRWD developed an energy solution that not only saves money but improves the reliability of the grid for the region,” General Manager Paul Cook said. “This project is an example of the broad benefits we can achieve when innovative public and private agencies work together.”
Previous awards presented to the project include the Golden Hub of Innovation Award from the Association of California Cities, Orange County; and the Best Energy Program Award for medium utilities from the California Municipal Utilities Association.
For the Orange County Business Council Public-Private Partnership Award, IRWD shared top honors with the Orange County Department of Education, which was recognized for its OC Pathways program.
