Published: Jan 21, 2019 | 16:18 PM

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.