Irvine Ranch Water District Specialists Discuss Careers with Students
IRWD Participates in Irvine Unified School District’s Annual Science Career Options Conference
As part of the Irvine Unified School District’s Annual Science Career Options Conference, Irvine Ranch Water District Water Quality Laboratory Supervisor Melinda Bergen and engineer Jacob Moeder gave presentations to seventh grade students from five of IUSD’s middle schools. Professionals from the IRWD have participated in the IUSD Career Conference for all 20 years of its existence.
“This is really how I dress for work,” Bergen explained to the group as she donned her white lab coat and safety glasses.
Using a student volunteer, she demonstrated the presence of chlorine in a sample of ordinary tap water. Then all of the students were able to test the PH of a water sample using strips of specialized PH paper. Students then compared the strip to a color scale to determine the PH level of the sample.
Moeder, a civil engineer, discussed the various engineering disciplines and explained the projects he is working on for the District, including the biosolids portion of the Michelson Water Recycling Plant expansion, which will turn sludge into pellets that can be used for fertilizer or heating. He passed around a sample bag of pellets, which resemble nuggets of coal.
Moeder gave two demonstrations – one on settlement and the other on liquefaction. Using two seemingly similar plates of sand, he placed equal amounts of weight on each one. One of the towers of weights slipped sideways, while the other stayed upright. The secret to this? A single sheet of toilet paper placed under the sand acted as a stabilizer and the weights did not slip. He then demonstrated how liquefaction can occur during an earthquake on unstable soil. Using a tube of sand and water, he placed a small house on top, along with a ruler simulating a pile. A student volunteer pushed a button to activate shaking within the tube. Water rose to the top and the house and ruler sunk.
Both Bergen and Moeder fielded student questions and discussed the education it took for them to achieve their career goals.
The goal of the IUSD conference is to increase student interest and awareness of science-related careers. In addition to IRWD, professionals from the careers of physics, medicine, medical research, food science, veterinary medicine, wildlife protection, ecology, dentistry, robotics, nursing and engineering participate.
IRWD has provided innovative student water education programs since the mid-1970s. These programs are available to students and teachers from kindergarten through college in any public, private or home school within our service area. For more information about IRWD education programs, please visit our website.
IRWD’s Natural Treatment System Treats Urban Runoff
NTS helps clean polluted water before running into the ocean
Many Orange County residents are unaware that man-made wetlands exist across the Irvine Ranch Water District’s service area to treat urban runoff, a major source of water pollution created by water that flows into storm drains when there are no storms.
These lakes and ponds use natural ecosystems, such as plants, to remove harmful contaminants and bacteria and prevent these pollutants from reaching the upper Newport Bay and flowing into the ocean.
“Many of the pollutants and nutrients that are found in urban runoff create problems within the watershed,” said Ian Swift, IRWD’s Wetlands Biologist. “These natural treatment system facilities help to improve water quality within the watershed by removing these contaminants. IRWD continues to be a leader in the region in the natural treatment of urban runoff.”
IRWD recently debuted a video titled “A look into the Natural Treatment System” which details the NTS. A follow-up video, “How does the Natural Treatment System Work?” was recently released. For more information on the Natural Treatment System, please visit www.irwd.com.
Williams Canyon 2010 Floods – Looking Back
The intense rainstorms of December 2010 flooded Williams Canyon a few days before Christmas, washing out a road and water service to many of the residents. What a difference a year makes. A recent visit to the area paints a different picture – water pipes were replaced, a new road was built and the sides of the creek were reinforced.
“I was super impressed how everyone came together and got it all back together so quickly,” said Dave Pedersen, IRWD Senior Director of Water Operations and Quality. “Restoring water service after an emergency situation is a top priority for IRWD.”
The flooding washed out a large segment of Williams Canyon Road, along with 700 feet of an eight-inch water main near the creek crossing. Additionally, a portion of 12-inch pipe near the Williams Canyon Pump Station was damaged. IRWD crews and Paulus Engineering began making repairs on December 23 once the flood waters began to recede. Repairs consisted of constructing two bypass water mains and restoring numerous broken water services.
Repairs continued over the next several days, placing many reservoirs back in service. Water service to customers was restored by December 29. Customers were kept informed with consistent updates on the IRWD website, and through Twitter feeds and Facebook postings.
For more information about IRWD emergency planning and CodeRED, please visit the IRWD website.
Irvine Ranch Water District Wants You to Be Safe
Safety is a top priority at Irvine Ranch Water District, so if someone knocks on your door claiming to be an IRWD employee, don’t be afraid to ask for identification. It is important to know if you are opening your door to a District staff member.
“Contact IRWD at (949) 453-5300 if you have any doubts and verify that the employee is who he or she claims to be,” said IRWD Customer Service Manager Gina Jackson. “All IRWD employees carry photo identification badges.”
Additionally most IRWD field crews wear an IRWD uniform or T-shirt with the logo above the left-hand pocket. IRWD Water Efficiency team members usually wear polo shirts with an IRWD logo embroidered on the left side. IRWD staff can also provide IRWD business cards.
When in doubt, ask the person to return to your home after you have had an opportunity to follow up on their identity. IRWD Customer Service field crews and members of the Water Efficiency team often go to homes to either collect late payments or conduct water efficiency surveys as requested by the customer. IRWD employees will never ask you to hand over any valuables. Contact your local law enforcement agency to file a report if you suspect someone is posing as an IRWD staff member.
For more information, please visit www.irwd.com.
Irvine Ranch Water District: Looking Ahead to the Future
Irvine Ranch Water District is dedicated to strategically planning for the future. Since our formation 50 years ago, we’ve anticipated and met the water supply needs of our service area. IRWD incorporates fiscal prudence, careful forecasting and continual development of new water resources into our long-term planning.
“Providing a safe and reliable water supply for our customers has always been and always will be our highest priority,” said IRWD General Manager Paul Cook. “Anticipating ways to meet our customers’ water needs during fires, floods, earthquakes and other water-related emergencies also plays a crucial role.”
Currently, IRWD is in the planning stages of the Syphon Reservoir Recycled Water Storage Project. Syphon Reservoir is a 60-year-old facility currently used to store irrigation water supplies. The two components of the project are conversion of the reservoir to seasonal storage for IRWD recycled water and augmenting the reservoir’s capacity. When complete, Syphon Reservoir will allow IRWD to utilize 100 percent of its recycled water.
Another upcoming project, which focuses on increased water reliability for south Orange County, is the proposed Baker Water Treatment Plant in Lake Forest. This project will be constructed at the existing Baker Filtration Plant and is intended to increase local treatment capability for multiple water supply sources, including imported water and local surface water from Irvine Lake.
The project will help provide reliable local drinking water supplies in the event of an emergency, or scheduled maintenance on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Diemer Filtration Plant, Lower Feeder Pipeline, or Allen-McColloch Pipeline. IRWD will partner with El Toro Water District, Moulton Niguel Water District, Santa Margarita Water District and Trabuco Canyon Water District.
The Baker plant currently provides filtered well water which supplements the IRWD recycled water system. Operation of the existing plant will be discontinued after the implementation of the proposed project.
The Baker Water Treatment Project will also include a new offsite pump station near Peters Canyon Reservoir. This project is currently in design, with construction to begin some time next year.
For more information on IRWD construction projects, please check our website.
