• Water Quality
• Water Supply
• Sewer / Wastewater
• Recycled Water
• Backflow Prevention
• Urban Runoff
• Facilities
• Urban Water Management Plan
• Research Business Plan

Diverse Sources Of Water. Now And In The Future.

Water Reliability

Everyone’s heard the adage “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” In the water business that means not relying on just one source of water. IRWD works hard to ensure our customers have diverse sources of water for increased reliability now and in the future.

Groundwater vs. Imported Water

Some parts of Orange County are 100% dependent on water from outside this area. Not so at IRWD. Since the late 1970s we’ve been building a network of local wells to ensure reliability and reasonable costs. After all, local water costs less than water that must travel hundreds of miles through aqueducts to reach Southern California.

Planning Ahead

You’ve heard about saving for a rainy day. How about saving for not-so-rainy day? IRWD has entered into innovative water banking agreements that allow water to be set aside in plentiful years for later use during droughts.

An electric pump is situated over the well to draw potable water to the surface. In an above-ground configuration like this, the well and pump are enclosed in a small structure to provide visual screening and noise control.

Huge bits like this one are used to drill groundwater wells. IRWD's wells range in depth from 400 to 2,000 feet deep. Local groundwater is lower in salts and reduces our reliance on water from outside the region.

IRWD strives to make its water infrastructure as inconspicuous as possible. Non-potable groundwater wells can be located above ground or almost completely underground. This well in Irvine is located beneath the landscaping next to a major intersection. The well and the submersible pump are all beneath the metal hatch, with the above-ground electrical panel hidden behind some hedges.