Large Haul Pulled from San Diego Creek
At first, the black, coiled item lying on the side of San Diego Creek resembled a snake. It turned out to be a flattened and weathered bicycle tire.
That item, along with construction debris that might have fallen off trucks on the freeway, was pulled out of the creek during Inner-Coastal Watershed Clean Up Day on Saturday, September 21. IRWD has hosted this site for the past 13 years in conjunction with Trails 4All, the event’s founder. The clean up coincides with Coastal Clean Up Day.
Unlike that clean up event, the goal of Inner-Coastal Watershed Clean Up Day is to clean trash from creeks and streams that empty out into bays and beaches.
“Grab it before it gets to the beach,” says event founder James Meyer.
Around 80 volunteers turned out to clean the creek of all manner of trash and recyclables and that they did. Both three-yard bins were filled.
Zach Simpson, 16, a Northwood High School student, would receive field service hours for his advanced placement environmental science class. Most of the volunteers were from the high school, but a Girl Scout troop and some private citizens participated as well. Over the years, more than 28,000 volunteers have cleaned up one million pounds of trash and recyclables at sites in Orange and Riverside counties.
Student to Have Poster Published in 2014 Calendar
An Irvine Ranch Water District service area student has had her poster chosen from a field of 159 for publication in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s “Water is Life” student art calendar for 2014.
Grace Jung was a third grader at Stonegate Elementary School in Irvine when her poster was selected as one of five finalists from the IRWD area for regional judging by Metropolitan. The 159 posters were submitted by the 23 participating member and retail agencies, of which IRWD is one. The calendar will feature 36 pieces of student art work.
A student recognition event will be held at Metropolitan’s Los Angeles offices later this year. The framed student art work will be on display. After the first of the year, all of the framed art work will be part of a traveling art show to be displayed for a week at a time in the lobbies of water agencies all over Southern California.
We will announce when IRWD will be hosting the art show. For more information on our educational programs, please visit our website.
Orange County Great Park Hosts Solar Decathlon 2013 and XPO
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 and XPO is a FREE public event featuring two complementary attractions: the Solar Decathlon, where visitors can tour highly efficient, solarpowered houses designed and built by collegiate teams, 
and the XPO, an exposition featuring innovative clean energy companies, products, and educational opportunities.
Stop by the IRWD booth during the event to learn more about how the District is involved. For more on Solar Decathlon 2013 and XPO, please visit www.solardecathlon.gov or www.the-xpo.org.
Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500
Irvine Ranch Water District Hosts Landscape Events
Just in time for fall planting, Irvine Ranch Water District is hosting a free landscape class on Friday, September 20 and another event at the Lake Forest Home Depot on Saturday, September 21.
The landscape class is scheduled from 6-9 p.m. on September 20 at the Irvine Ranch Water District offices at 15600 Sand Canyon Avenue. Come learn about creating a water-efficient landscape from the landscape experts.
Sign up at AWS@irwd.com with your name and the number of attendees.
On Saturday, Home Depot in Lake Forest is hosting a garden event in conjunction with IRWD from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The store is located at 20021 Lake Forest Drive.
Receive special discounts on select varieties of attractive water-efficient plants. Enjoy vendor displays, educational demonstrations, give-aways, and more.
Learn from local experts how to plan a water-efficient landscape, while saving money and beautifying your yard.
Experts will be on hand to assist customers with updating their landscaping to use less water, while maintaining a colorful, lively appearance.
As an added bonus, present your current IRWD newsletter, Pipelines, at the IRWD display and receive a special prize.
More information about garden-friendly landscapes is available at our website.
IRWD Financial Planning Keeps Customer Rates Low
IRWD has a solid financial foundation to ensure its tradition of excellent service and low rates for our customers. A key element of this foundation is setting aside funds now to pay for future expenses related to refurbishing and replacing the District’s infrastructure assets. These are the assets that enable IRWD to provide, both now and in the future, a highly reliable and cost-effective water and sewer service to more than 330,000 residents of Orange County.
IRWD serves about one fifth of Orange County and has capital assets worth over $1 billion that include more than 1,900 miles of drinking water pipelines, more than 900 miles of sewer pipes, 53 reservoirs and two large water recycling facilities. This year alone, IRWD will invest over $110 million for new facilities and replacement of facilities that have reached the end of their useful lives. Looking out over the next 20 years, IRWD’s future capital infrastructure plan has more than 500 active and planned projects.
All of IRWD’s facilities, whether it be the groundwater wells, pump stations, or pipelines, will need to be repaired at some point and eventually replaced. To prepare for both short-term and long-term expenditures for these projects, IRWD has planned extensively for the infrastructure needs of our customers by designating $404 million in restricted funds in accordance with General Accepted Accounting Principles and the Government Accounting Standards Board.
For many years, IRWD has honored its commitment to protect our customers from unnecessary and costly increases in rates through sound business practices, both technical and financial. Proactive planning for the future provides IRWD customers today’s gold standard in service and reliability at the lowest possible cost.
Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500
