Shadetree Partnership Wins Excellence in Volunteer Management Award
The Shadetree Partnership and UC Irvine have jointly received the 2014 Award for Excellence in Volunteer Management from the Arbor Day Foundation.
The award is presented to a community, group or organization for their outstanding efforts to mobilize and engage volunteers in tree planting and care within a community.
Irvine Ranch Water District Board Member Mary Aileen Matheis, also Shadetree’s president, commended all of the volunteers for their hard work.
“Everyone involved with Shadetree do it for the love of the organization,” she said. “I take great pride in being involved with the people associated with this organization.”
Shadetree Partnership is a volunteer non-profit organization that promotes more livable communities through the planting and stewardship of shade trees and other nursery stock. Since its formation in 1990, Shadetree has planted more than 26,500 trees and groundcover at various sites within the community. Many Orange County schools, colleges, community groups, non-profits and businesses have participated in Shadetree planting events.
Shadetree’s nursery is located at UCI and hosts monthly nursery events, which includes planting, pruning, weeding nursery stock and other needed maintenance.
More information about Shadetree and future events is available on its website.
Irvine Ranch Water District Recycling Plant Receives Honors
The Irvine Ranch Water District’s Michelson Water Recycling Plant Phase 2 Expansion project has received honors from the American Society of Civil Engineers Orange County Chapter and the Orange County Engineering Council. ASCE named MWRP as Water Treatment Project of the Year for 2013 and OCEC selected the plant to receive an Engineering Project Achievement Award.
The awards were presented at both organizations’ annual awards dinners in February.
Expansion of MWRP began in the fall of 2009. When completed in May, the facility will be expanded to treat up to 28 million gallons of wastewater per day.
The expansion includes approximately 1,900 feet of new influent sewers, a new headworks facility with screening, grit removal, and solids handling equipment, four new rectangular primary sedimentation tanks and associated sludge and scum pumping, expanded flow equalization and primary effluent distribution facilities, upgrades to the existing activated sludge process, a new high-rate clarifier to polish secondary effluent and treat backwash return flows from the dual media filters, upgrades to the chlorine contact basins, a new membrane bioreactor, and a new ultraviolet disinfection facility for wastewater treated by the membrane bioreactor.
The expansion also includes new support facilities, including a new odor control facility, chemical feed systems, storm water pump stations, and electrical buildings.
While this project has been underway, the plant has maintained operations without interruption.
IRWD owns and operates two water recycling plants that treat wastewater to tertiary or advanced levels of treatment. IRWD maintains a completely separate recycled water pipeline system of more than 300 miles serving more than 3,500 customers. MWRP is the larger of the two plants.
Recycled water is also used for toilet flushing in commercial buildings, for air conditioning cooling towers, and for industrial uses such as carpet dyeing.
More information about the Michelson Water Recycling Plant expansion project may be found on our website.
Gates Protect Irvine Ranch Water District Water Recycling Plant
While weather-watchers awaited the arrival of last week’s storms, crews at the IRWD Michelson Water Recycling Plant installed flood gate panels in one of seven openings placed around the plant.
“We were not at a stage where the gates were required, but thought it would be a good opportunity for training,” said Operations Supervisor Dave Hayden. “The gate was set up in 17 minutes, a new all time record.”
Expansion of the water recycling plant began in the fall of 2009 and construction of the flood wall was included in the project because of possible flooding from adjacent San Diego Creek during storms. It was necessary to drive 3,000 reinforced 50-foot long concrete piles around the perimeter of the plant and the San Joaquin Marsh to stabilize the wall.
The wall includes seven gateways into which gate panels can be installed in the event of the San Diego Creek overflowing its banks. This could put the wastewater treatment plant and the marsh campus in jeopardy of flooding. In addition, raw sewage could dump into the creek during flooding if the treatment plant became inoperable.
Two gates remain in place at the rear of the plant at the boundary of the San Joaquin Marsh.
More information on IRWD construction projects is available on our website.
First Home Depot Event This Weekend
The first of two events geared toward assisting IRWD customers in updating their gardens to use less water is scheduled for Saturday, March 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Lake Forest Home Depot store, 20021 Lake Forest Drive.
This is the second consecutive year IRWD and Home Depot have teamed up in this endeavor. The official declaration of drought makes this event especially important. A second event is set for March 22 at the Irvine store located at 6200 Irvine Boulevard.
Present your current customer newsletter, Pipelines, at the IRWD booth at either Home Depot event and receive a special prize.
IRWD customers will:
- Learn from local experts how to plant a water-efficient landscape
- Receive special discounts on water-efficient plants
- Visit vendor displays
- Watch educational demonstrations
- Receive giveaways and more!
Please visit our website to learn gardening tips and to view a gallery of water-friendly plants.
Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500
IRWD Asks Customers to Voluntarily Reduce Water Use by 20 Percent
In response to statewide drought declaration by Governor Brown, the Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors has adopted a resolution asking all IRWD customers to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20%. This voluntary conservation effort will help reduce demand on current statewide water supplies and extend water reserves if the drought continues for an extended period.
“It is important for all Californians to reduce their water use,” said Steve LaMar, President of the IRWD Board of Directors, “While the Southern California region has made substantial infrastructure investments, it is still important that we all do our part to save water. Together we can make a difference.”
For over twenty years, IRWD has made water use efficiency a top priority through the implementation of water efficient practices and programs and the development of alternative water supply resources such as recycled water. The District offers financial incentives to customers to encourage the installation of high efficiency clothes washers and toilets, and turf replacement and continues to engage customers in innovative and creative ways to conserve water through customer communication programs.
IRWD has also made investments which have reduced its reliance on imported water from 62% in 1990 to 22% in 2013, expanded the use of recycled water, increased storage, and invested in water conservation. These investments have not only reduced long-term costs to IRWD’s rate-payers, but have also provided increased water supply reliability for IRWD customers.
While the average daily water use for an IRWD residential customer has fallen from 170 gallons per day in 1991 to approximately 86 gallons per day in 2014, there are still a few things customers can do to save water:
|
How Much Can You Save? |
Estimated Water Savings |
|
Water only when necessary |
1,100 gallons per irrigation cycle |
|
Water before 8am |
25 gallons per day |
|
Check for sprinkler leaks, overspray & broken sprinkler heads |
500 gallons per month |
|
Use a water saving hose nozzle |
Up to 7,500 gallons per year |
|
Use a broom, not a hose to clean driveways and sidewalks |
Up to 150 gallons each time |
|
Install a smart sprinkler irrigation controller (rebate available) |
Up to 40 gallons per irrigation cycle |
|
Place organic mulch in your garden |
Hundreds of gallons per year |
|
Replace thirsty plants with California Friendly plants (rebate available) |
Hundreds of gallons per year |
For more water saving tips and ways to save water and money please visit the IRWD website water savings portal at: http://www.irwd.com/save-water-money.
To learn more about IRWD’s new outside water savings center please visit http://www.irwd.com/CALscape
Up to date information on the California drought can be found at http://www.saveourh2o.org/
