Beginning Tuesday, February 21, access to the Irvine Ranch Water District Sand Canyon administrative office building from Waterworks Way will re-open with an extra driveway. Additionally, the bill payment drop box has been moved to a new one-way, drive-through location.

“The Sand Canyon driveways will continue to be open,” said Rob Jacobson, IRWD project manager.

The new driveway is located further down Waterworks Way, toward Odyssey. Customers paying their bills may only access the drop box from the first Waterworks driveway, or from the Sand Canyon driveway.

A small area of the new IRWD parking area will remain fenced off for final construction work. Please check the District’s website for further construction updates.

Residents may observe Earth Day on Saturday, April 21, during the Hike with the Mayor and City Council at the Irvine Ranch Water District’s San Joaquin Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. The event is open to the public and begins at 8:30 a.m. It’s expected to last 90 minutes.

Comfortable shoes and clothing is advised. Bring cameras and binoculars, as the marsh is truly a feast for the eyes. One of Southern California's most notable nature respites, the marsh encompasses more than 300 acres of coastal freshwater wetlands, with 12 miles of hiking trails.

This Earth Day observance is part of the city of Irvine’s Healthy City Healthy Planet initiative. For more information on the marsh, please visit our website. To participate in the Mayor’s Hike, please visit the city’s website.

Contact: Shannon Reeds, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500

If your home has been affected by a blackout, you may already know that you have to reset your clocks and other appliances. Add one more to the list – your sprinkler system’s controller.

“It's important to maintain your irrigation system to avoid over-watering, maintain plant health,
and reduce runoff,” said Nathan Adams, IRWD Water Efficiency Analyst. “IRWD wants to team up with you to take control of your irrigation controller.”

Many people don’t know that when the power goes out, many irrigation timers revert to the “default” setting, which usually turns on the sprinklers for 10 minutes a day, seven times a week. This can not only cause you to have a very wet yard, but can result in higher water bills and urban runoff.

Step 1:
A. Be sure your controller has a back-up battery in case of a power outage and replace it every time you replace your fire alarm batteries. Most controllers take a 9 volt battery, which is located behind or under the controller face.

B. Check your controller’s run times; if they’re set to water seven days a week, 10 minutes for each zone this means you have experienced a power outage and your controller’s back-up battery is dead or missing.

C. Now it’s time to re-schedule your run times. Visit www.alwayswatersmart.com, and click on Irrigation Schedule.

Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500

Did you know that the average-sized household in the IRWD service area uses about 345 gallons of water per day? And that is not necessarily due to taking showers, washing dishes, flushing toilets, or doing the laundry. Two hundred gallons of that 345 figure, or 50 to 60 percent, is used outside for watering your landscape.

"One way to determine if you are using too much water is to look at your bill," said IRWD Water Use Efficiency Analyst Nathan Adams. "If you fall within the inefficient, excessive, or wasteful category, chances are too much water is being applied to your landscape."

There are three ways to reduce your landscape’s drinking problem[NA1]  and IRWD offers incentives to help you address outdoor water use efficiency:

• Your plant palette dictates water usage. Grass requires much more water compared to native and California-friendly plants.  Consider replacing grass areas which are seldom used, like the area next to driveways first.
• Make monthly adjustments to your watering schedule. Automatic irrigation timers are efficient only if the run times are set according to weather and climate conditions. For suggested irrigation times, go to www.irwd.com/alwayswatersmart/weekly-irrigation-schedule.
• Efficiency is king – if your sprinklers are watering the driveway, sidewalk, or the street, water is being wasted and causing runoff.  Fix leaks, adjust spray patterns and install efficient rotating nozzles and drip irrigation where possible.

IRWD has a host of programs to help you become more water efficient:

•  Take advantage of our turf removal program, which will pay $1.50 per square-foot of grass removed for a minimum of 250 to a maximum of 10,000 square-feet.  Visit:

www.irwd.com/alwayswatersmart/rebates/turf-removal-rebate-program.

• Go to www.irwd.com/alwayswatersmart/garden-resources to check out native and California-friendly plants that are suited to our mild winters and warm climate. These plants are low-maintenance and require very little water.
• Replace your old water-wasting sprinklers with rotating spray nozzles and receive a $3 rebate per nozzle. Go to www.irwd.com/alwayswatersmart/residential-rebates[NA2]  for information and a list of where to purchase the nozzles.
• Replace your old irrigation controller with a weather-based irrigation controller. Customers may receive a rebate of up to $425 per timer. Go to www.irwd.com/alwayswatersmart/residential/residential-rebates for information and a list of where to purchase the timers.

For more information about IRWD water efficiency programs, please visit our website.