Fires, Floods, Earthquakes – Drills and Real Life Experience Serve as Training Tools

Irvine Ranch Water District is committed to emergency preparedness and conducts annual drills and exercises for employees. In addition, there are real-life events that put what staff has learned to the test.

“After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, IRWD crews were sent to assist in restoring water service in the hard-hit areas of Reseda and Northridge,” said IRWD Interim General Manager Paul Cook. “We sent 23 employees, who rotated through 12-hour shifts over four days to get the water flowing.”

In 1999, IRWD rolled out a 16-foot-long Emergency Response Trailer, equipped with everything needed for such a response, including orange cones, protective suits, self-contained breathing apparatus, rubber boots and gloves, two children’s wading pools used for decontamination, medical supplies, first aid kits, generators and medical monitoring equipment. When an emergency situation calls for it, the District’s highly trained hazardous materials response team utilized the Emergency Trailer to take immediate action.

In October 2007, the Santiago Fire ravaged Orange County and kept IRWD crews across many departments working around the clock to keep the water flowing to firefighters. Crews were out close to the fire lines, installing generators, operating pumps and manually measuring reservoir depths in areas where power and phone lines were knocked out by the flames. Some crews manned hoses to help protect key water facilities. One of the IRWD pump houses in the Portola Hills area was destroyed.

Last December, torrential storms caused significant damage to Williams Canyon, washing out a road along with IRWD water mains that supply water service to canyon residents. Over several days, including Christmas, crews worked in the rain providing access for equipment and constructing two water bypass lines to restore water to residents.

Practice does make perfect. Emergency drills, such as the statewide “Great Shake Out,” a six-hour Emergency Preparedness Drill in 2008. It was the largest such drill in the nation’s history and the first time IRWD had participated in a drill of that magnitude. Please visit our website for more information about emergency preparedness efforts by IRWD, or to sign up for the CodeRED emergency notification system.

Environmental Stewardship is a driving force at the Irvine Ranch Water District

Stewardship is a driving force behind Irvine Ranch Water District’s many environmental programs, because as water providers we understand how important it is to protect natural resources for future generations.  It’s so important, in fact, that we have formed strong partnerships with the Audubon Society and the Shadetree Partnership to improve important stewardship initiatives.

The Sea & Sage Chapter of the National Audubon Society has long been a force for conservation, research and environmental education in Orange County, focusing on classes, field trips and volunteer activities. As such, the group’s interests and ours align perfectly at the IRWD San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary.  Audubon House, one of the historic homes on the site, was provided to Sea & Sage by IRWD and serves as the group’s home.

Audubon House offers a reference library, nature shop and exhibits of local birds, and is the gathering point for the group’s public tours of the marsh and other educational programs.  Working with Audubon, IRWD has been able to reach the approximately 3,000 school children and 12,000 other visitors to the marsh each year, increasing their understanding and appreciation of the wildlife and the water quality functions of the marsh.

The Shadetree Partnership is a volunteer organization that promotes more livable communities by planting shadetrees in urban Orange County. Because shadetrees are good for water conservation and water quality, IRWD has become one of their primary partners. We have worked with volunteers to plant more than 25,000 trees throughout our service area.

Native shadetrees use less water than turf, and their shade reduces the loss of irrigation water to evaporation.  Because their roots hold soil together, they also protect water resources by reducing silt runoff into local waterways.  The group’s shadetree nursery in Irvine, which grows thousands of trees, shrubs and groundcovers using micro-spray emitters to spray IRWD’s recycled water at each plant, lets volunteers experience an example of highly efficient irrigation.

On September 13, 2011 the Foothills Sentry noted that the Irvine Ranch Water District was a gray water pioneer and suggested that recycled water and graywater are the same. For clarification purposes, graywater and recycled water are not the same. 

Recycled water is wastewater treated, disinfected and used according to State of California standards.  IRWD produces billions of gallons of disinfected tertiary recycled water annually which is used at about 4,500 sites throughout IRWD’s service area. By contrast, graywater is typically untreated, non-disinfected wastewater from residential showers, bath tubs, sinks and washing machines that may be used to irrigate landscaping at the site where the graywater is generated. Graywater has its own set of regulations that are in the process of being updated.  

Recycled water is typically cleaner and safer than gray water and can be used for many applications including irrigation of schools, parks, golf courses and for industrial applications such as in cooling towers and for toilet and urinal flushing.  In the case of IRWD’s recycled water, it is produced at one of two treatment plants and distributed to our customers through about 450 miles of pipelines dedicated to carrying only recycled water.    

IRWD is considered a pioneer in the use of recycled water. Water recycling is an essential component of IRWD’s water supply portfolio, as any demand met with recycled water reduces the demand for high-quality drinking water. Currently, IRWD meets roughly 21 percent of its water demands with recycled water. The use of recycled water extends drinking water supplies, reduces the need for additional potable water facilities, reduces the amount of treated wastewater discharged into the ocean, reduces reliance on costly imported water supplies, and increases water supply reliability. In fact, the use of recycled water is a key component of IRWD's conservation and water use efficiency programs as every gallon of recycled water used results in a gallon of drinking water that can be saved for potable uses. 

Please click to learn more about IRWD Recycled Water.

Visitors will Flip for Sea and Sage Audubon’s Flapjacks

The Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh will host the annual Sea and Sage Audubon Society’s pancake breakfast on Saturday, October 29 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. “This event has become a favorite in the community,” said Sea and Sage President Bruce Aird. “We invite everyone to come on out and have a great breakfast while enjoying the atmosphere of the marsh.”

In addition to pancakes and sausages hot off the griddle, visitors can take guided bird walks with Sea and Sage naturalists before or after breakfast. Several spotting scope stations will be set up for close up views of birds at the ponds. The event will also highlight projects made by the youngsters who participated in the Audubon summer camps, Audubon’s vast collection of taxidermy birds and wildlife, Audubon’s used book store, and displays by Wild Birds Unlimited.

Participants can learn about Sea and Sage opportunities for adult volunteers to share their love of nature with children and the newest class offered by Sea and Sage that combines art with science.

Irvine Ranch Water District partners with Sea and Sage Audubon to provide community education programs. Please visit www.irwd.com for more information about the San Joaquin Marsh and IRWD education programs. Please visit www.seaandsageaudubon.org for information about the pancake breakfast.