Former Los Alisos Water District Became Part of IRWD

The Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors honored the City of Lake Forest at its August 22 meeting for being a part of the District's 50 years of history. The city has three different water districts that serve its residents.

"When IRWD consolidated with the Los Alisos Water District in 2001, the collaborative relationship was carried on," said Interim General Manager Paul Cook.

The city's motto is "Remember the past, challenge the future." This motto ties in appropriately with the IRWD 50th Anniversary efforts. Lake Forest ensures its rich heritage of the past is preserved and enhanced in this contemporary city - ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future. The city was incorporated in 1991.

Under the provisions of California Water District law, the Los Alisos Water District was formed by ranchers and land owners in 1960 over most of the Spanish land grant area of Ranch Canada de Los Alisos. The new district was formed primarily to obtain imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California through the recently formed Orange County Municipal Water District.

In 1961, LAWD, in collaboration with the El Toro Water District, created the Santiago Aqueduct Commission, a joint powers agency that financed and built the V.P. Baker Pipeline. Completed in 1962, the new pipeline extended from the Santiago Lateral of MWD southwest approximately 15 miles. The population within LAWD at this time was less than 300. In 1963, LAWD began construction of sewer collection and treatment facilities.

By December 2000, the population had grown to approximately 43,000 and was served by a domestic water system that included 144 miles of pipe and eight reservoirs with a combined storage of 60 million gallons. Sewer service was provided by a 106-mile sewer collection system, one sewer lift station and a secondary sewage tratment facility with a capacity of 7.5 million gallons per day. Tertiary treatment facilities of 5.5 million gallons per day provided recycled water through 21 miles of pipe and five reservoirs with 15 million gallons of storage capacity.

In early 2000, LAWD entered into discussions with IRWD regarding potential consolidation. The primary goal was to improve water reliability in the LAWD service area, which at the time received two thirds of its water supply from Metropolitan. The two districts merged January 1, 2001, following approval by the Local Agency Formation Commission.

In 2006, IRWD constructed an intertie project to tie the service area into our domestic system. Since then, IRWD has also drilled wells, rehabilitated wells and conducted a sewer rehabilitation project.  Soon we’ll be starting the Baker Water Treatment Plant project. This regional project will be built at the existing Baker Filtration Plant site in the City of Lake Forest. The project is intended to provide increased water supply reliability to south Orange County by increasing local treatment capability for multiple water supply sources, including imported water and local surface water from Irvine Lake. It will also help provide a reliable local potable water supply in the event of emergency conditions or scheduled maintenance on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's (MWD) delivery system (Diemer Filtration Plant, Lower Feeder Pipeline or Allen-McColloch Pipeline) and increase operational flexibility by creating redundancy with the water conveyance system. Project partners include IRWD, El Toro Water District, Mouton Niguel Water District, Santa Margarita Water District and Trabuco Canyon Water District.

The City of Lake Forest has been a great partner to Irvine Ranch Water District in all endeavors.  Both of our organizations have grown together throughout the years and the growth of the community.

Get Your Questions Answered by IRWD Customer Service Pros

Do you have any questions about your Irvine Ranch Water District water bill? Bring your bill and questions with you to the IRWD 50^th Anniversary Customer Appreciation Event on Saturday, September 17 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Representatives from the IRWD Customer Service Department will be on hand to walk you through your bill, explain what is on the bill and even offer tips on how to lower your bill. Information will also be available on how to sign up for eBill, the CodeRED emergency notification system and address any questions about the IRWD conservation rate system.

Bring the whole family and join us for an informative day of activities featuring tours of the IRWD Water Quality Laboratory and the San Joaquin Marsh, educational activities and crafts, conservation workshops, equipment displays and demonstrations, and appearances by the beloved IRWD mascot, Aqua Duck.

Please visit the IRWD website for more information.

New IRWD program promotes outdoor water conservation with free sprinkler nozzles

From September 1 to November 11, Irvine Ranch Water District residential and business customers are eligible to receive free water-efficient sprinklers!

Through a special limited-time program, residential customers will be eligible to receive up to 25 free Toro Precision Series Spray Nozzles. Business customers served with potable water can receive up to 100 free nozzles, while supplies last. Beginning September 1, customers can visit www.FreeSprinklerNozzles.com  to participate in the program.

“Programs like this  give our customers a sample of the conservation-friendly items available,” said Water Efficiency Manager, Fiona Sanchez. “Our hope is that once customers see how much water and money they can save, they will be more inclined to conserve.”

Customers will receive a voucher through e-mail, good for the number of nozzles they requested.  The precision nozzles are designed to irrigate more efficiently, and help customers save water.

Customers in need of specific program information or help, please call (949) 453-5581 or email Shavonne Mays. mays@irwd.com.

For more conservation tips for your home or business, visit www.alwayswatersmart.com.

Program Information: Shavonne Mays, mays@irwd.com  (949) 453-5581

10 Agricultural Customers Affected

In June, Irvine Ranch Water District agricultural customers who had been served with irrigation water from the Irvine Lake Pipeline began receiving treated recycled water. Projected recycled water demand by the converted customers is approximately 1,800 acre feet per year, replacing the imported water source serving Irvine Lake.

“Our growers have been successfully utilizing recycled water for crops and orchards for a long time, so when IRWD approached us about the conversion of more sites to recycled water, it made sense,” said Peter Changala of The Irvine Company. “We provided staff to work with IRWD and when the changeover to recycled water happened, it was seamless. Implementing this conversion will not only mean increased water reliability for our farmers, but will improve potable water supplies for the region.”

IRWD conducted more than two years of research and cooperation between the impacted customers, many departments within IRWD, and outside regulatory agencies to implement the project.  In August 2008, IRWD began working with agricultural customers and commercial nurseries located along Portola Parkway to bring their irrigation systems into compliance for recycled water use.  Up until that time, those customers were using water from the Irvine Lake Pipeline for irrigation. Irvine Lake is supplied with untreated water purchased from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, as well as native runoff water.

Once the IRWD On-Site Systems Group was directed to proceed, the team members began the lengthy process of contacting customers and conducting system investigation. What they found when examining several customer sites was a web of underground pipes.

“A large-scale water retrofit like this is complicated because pipes have been in the ground for many years and often plans for those facilities do not exist, limiting our ability to determine with certainty where pipes are located or how they may be connected,” said Mark Tettemer of IRWD Water Resources. “Under these circumstances, IRWD makes observations, runs tests, obtains whatever plans or schematics may be available and conducts interviews with employees of the customer to determine the best possible information regarding what’s happening underground.”

IRWD found that properties served by the Irvine Lake Pipeline were vast, complex water systems that went beyond agricultural or nursery irrigation, to serving commercial buildings and even homes. Nursery irrigation systems operated differently than agricultural crop irrigation adding a layer of technical complexity to an already complex evaluation.

It was a Learning Process

The On-Site Group called on the expertise of the IRWD Cross-Connection team and Water Quality Department, the Department of Public Health, Orange County Health Care Agency and the Regional Water Quality Control Board for assistance.  Their joint conclusions determined that several properties would have to install new drinking water lines while others would need to reconfigure plumbing systems to meet compliance requirements.

As these evaluations progressed, the economy took a toll on the commercial nurseries, and they closed down and vacated some of the land which was to be converted.  This had the effect of simplifying some technical aspects with irrigation systems left unused, but added the issue of initiating contact with new customers.

As the technical and customer issues were slowly resolved, IRWD staff focused on high level priorities to ensure that no cross-connections existed. Where customers required drinking water, new lines were installed and inspected; critical plumbing changes to recycled water lines were constructed and approved.  As compliance issues were nearing completion, On-Site conducted final system tests and in-field consultations with the regulatory agencies. With conversion in sight, On-Site requested that IRWD Operations “flip the switch” to recycled water, and on June 8, the new source was successfully connected.

Please visit the IRWD website for more information about IRWD Recycled Water