The iconic wooden windmill that has greeted visitors to IRWD’s Michelson Water Recycling Plant since 1988 has a long and storied past.

Visitors driving past the plant are probably not aware that what they are seeing is not the rustic structure that sat there for 20 years, but rather a wooden tower and wheel erected in 2009 that looks very much like the original.  The wind vane is the only piece of equipment that has survived the rigors of time.

The original windmill was probably built between 1916 and 1932 by Aermotor Windmills of San Antonio, Texas. It was one of about 1,200 such windmills that dotted the vast Irvine Ranch before modern water pumping devices were available. All but a few had fallen to progress over the years.

In the late 1970s, the windmill became a landmark at the old Irvine Ranch Market on Myford Road and the Interstate 5 freeway in Irvine. The windmill’s fate was in jeopardy when the market was bulldozed in 1983 to make way for the realignment of the road.

That’s when IRWD stepped in to preserve the windmill as part of the area’s water history. Long-time Irvine Ranch employee Jim Olson, first moved the windmill to an IRWD storage yard at the recycling plant and then to its permanent home in front of the facility in 1988. Interestingly enough, the windmill was once again moved by Olson, who by then was working at IRWD as the construction and repair manager.

In 2005, the windmill was dedicated to Olson, who passed away in 2002. A monument sits at the base of the windmill, with a plaque telling its story.

In March 2008, the windmill was damaged during high winds. An IRWD employee discovered blades dangling from the wheel and others lying on the ground. Two days later, the 600-pound wheel was removed while IRWD officials pondered whether to fix the vintage structure or replace it.

Ultimately, the old wooden tower made the decision to retire. It was riddled with dry rot and deemed structurally unsafe to support a new wheel, so it was demolished. Rock Ridge Windmills, based in Cloverdale, California, provided the new wooden tower and wheel mechanism. A year later, the windmill was reborn with a combination of old and new parts, in keeping with the historical spirit of the original.

The windmill, located at the entrance to IRWD’s Michelson Water Reclamation Plant on Riparian View Road, can be seen by visitors coming to the IRWD San Joaquin Marsh and Campus.  For more information on IRWD, our historical preservation programs, and the San Joaquin Marsh and Campus, please visit www.irwd.com.

IRWD’S most senior employee celebrated 35 years of employment at IRWD in July. Noah Sanchez is the Operations Manager for IRWD’s Los Alisos Water Recycling Plant (LAWRP) in Lake Forest.

All 35 of his employment years have been spent at LAWRP, where Sanchez began his career while still a student at El Toro High School.

“A neighbor worked here and told me someone was needed to work part time,” he recalled. “So I would come here after school and wash down the clarifiers.”

If there was sweeping up to be done, Sanchez was there to push the broom - whatever needed doing, Sanchez did. His work during high school is not counted toward his 35 years on the job.

That part-time work gave Sanchez a wealth of experience and insight into the workings of a water district. He went out with field crews and helped read water meters, install pipelines, or anything and everything asked of him.

Like many youngsters, Sanchez did not know what he wanted to do after high school. He was offered full-time work at LAWRP and began taking the necessary certification classes to enhance his career resume.   

Sanchez eventually worked his way up to Chief Operator, then Plant Supervisor, and finally to his current position of Operations Manager.  He oversaw a major plant upgrade which was completed last year.

IRWD enjoys longevity of employment among its workforce of more than 300. Of that number, 15 employees have 30 years or more of service.

The California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) awarded IRWD the Public Outreach and Education Award for its innovative student water education programs.  The award was accepted on August 21 by IRWD Board Vice President Peer Swan at the 55^th annual CASA conference in Monterey, California.

IRWD’s commitment to community and student education is boundless. IRWD has conducted free water education programs for schools in our service area for more than 30 years. For the past three years, IRWD has partnered with the Discovery Science Center to provide programs for kindergarten through high school students in area public, private or home schools. More than 8,000 students participated in the program during the 2009-10 school year.

IRWD’s education programs meet all California curriculum content standards while bringing water education to life for our students. Kindergarten through sixth grade students participate in grade-specific assembly programs focusing on water science and conservation. All assemblies stress the importance of conserving limited resources and preventing water pollution. Student participation is encouraged with the use of individual student response keypads  and customized workbooks featuring IRWD’s beloved mascot, Aqua Duck.

Middle school students in sixth through eighth grade participate in a four-week class of hands-on water chemistry and environmental lessons culminating with a field trip and tour of the IRWD San Joaquin Marsh and the Michelson Water Recycling Plant.

Students participating in the high school program can earn community service credit by learning to teach younger students, their families and community members about water and resource-related topics through interactive games, hands-on demonstrations and short lectures. Students demonstrate their skills at community education events called Wild About the Wetlands, held at the IRWD Marsh Campus three times throughout the school year.

More information about IRWD’s student water education and community outreach programs is available by calling (949) 453-5500 and visiting www.irwd.com.

IRWD’s budget based rate structure rewards customers for their efficient use of water with some of the lowest rates in Orange County. If you’re paying over-budget charges on your water bill, it not only causes sticker shock, but it signals a problem.

High water bills occur for a variety of reasons – over irrigation, undetected leaks, malfunctioning appliances, dripping faucets or the incorrect number of residents or landscape size on file with IRWD. Our goal is to provide you with enough water to meet your daily living needs. IRWD staff is available to help you determine the cause of your high water use and work with you toward a resolution. If you have checked for leaks, reset your irrigation timers and ruled out any other reasons causing a high water bill, it might be time to determine if you qualify for a variance, or increase in your budget.

Water bugets for a typical single-family home provide enough water for four people and 1,300 square-feet of landscape. In condominiums or town homes, the budget provides enough water for three people and 435 square-feet of landscape. Standard apartment budgets provide enough water for two people and no landscape.

If you have additional people living in your home, your landscaped area is larger, you have special medical needs or are a license care facility, applying for a variance is simple. Log onto www.irwd.com/customer-care/billing-questionsand print out the variance request form. Just return the completed form along with the required documentation to our Customer Service Department.

For further details, call Customer Service at (949) 453-5300 or email customerservice@irwd.com.