IRWD unveils new look for water conservation mascot
Britany Long, a 2011 graduate of Beckman High School, was recently honored by the Irvine Ranch Water District for designing an updated look for the IRWD water conservation mascot, Aqua Duck.
"IRWD is pleased to honor Britany Long for redesigning our long-honored water conservation and education mascot, Aqua Duck," said Mary Aileen Mattheis, IRWD Board President. "Her artwork will be used as IRWD's official mascot on all education materials going forward."
The Aqua Duck makeover contest was held in the spring and summer of 2011. The conservation mascot has been helping educate students since the early 1980’s. In conjunction with the District's 50th Anniversary year, it was time to bring him into the new millennium with a make-over. The contest received entries from students of all ages from schools within the IRWD service area.
After careful consideration, Britany’s artwork was selected to represent Aqua Duck. She will be attending the Academy of Art University in San Francisco later this month. Britany’s winning entry will be used as the official education mascot on all IRWD Discovery Science Center materials.
For more information on IRWD education programs, please visit our website.
Solar Cup Team Hopes This Year Goes its Way
Irvine Ranch Water District’s El Toro High School Solar Cup team is counting on “Lucky 7” for 2012. The team is optimistic that seven – the number of years the team has participated, will be its lucky number.
For the past two years of competition, they’ve had a run of bad luck. In 2010, a drive shaft broke and last year, a brand new engine seized up and died the first day of qualifying.
“Everything will go right this year!” said Glenn Matyasovich, president of the school’s Engineering Club. “We have a great boat and great team and are adding some new features to this year’s boat.”
Solar Cup is an eco-boating competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The seven-month program begins with boat building workshops in which teams construct their boats from identical kits of marine-caliber plywood. Boats are 16 feet long and weigh about 250 pounds.
Throughout the months there are several workshops focusing on technical aspects such as drive trains, electrical systems, solar power collection and steering systems. Race weekend is May 18-20 at Lake Skinner in Riverside where teams will compete in endurance and sprint races.
El Toro’s 11-member team with many returning members from last year, are involved in the Engineering Club. The adviser, teacher Doug Ford, had a special room built at the school a few years ago to accommodate the solar boat construction. Previous boats had been stored at the homes of students and it wasn’t always convenient to organize work parties. Now, the boat is stored on campus and students can come in after classes, or during lunch to work on the boat.
For more information about IRWD education programs, please visit our website.
IRWD Waterworks Way Entrance Re-Opened
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.
Irvine Ranch Water District to Host Hike with the Mayor
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
Take Control of Your Controller
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
