The Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Paul A. Cook as Interim IRWD General Manager effective July 16, 2011. Current IRWD General Manager Paul D. Jones will leave IRWD at that time to become General Manager at Eastern Municipal Water District.

The District will immediately begin a nationwide search for a new General Manager. “We are committed to finding the same kind of creative and visionary leadership provided by Paul Jones and will conduct a thorough and exhaustive internal and external search for qualified candidates,” said IRWD Board President Steve LaMar.

The Irvine Ranch Water District is known as a national leader among water and wastewater agencies for innovative water supply projects, creative water management solutions and ground-breaking water conservation programs. “Paul Cook has a proven track record as a professional manager and is an expert in engineering and operations. The board has great confidence he will keep IRWD on track,” said Board President LaMar.

Paul Cook, 46, joined IRWD in 2004 as the Assistant General Manager and is a former Orange County Water District board member.  Prior to IRWD he served as the Manager of Engineering for the Central and West Basin Municipal Water Districts in Los Angeles County where he was responsible for the design and construction of major water recycling, advanced treatment and regional distribution systems. Cook is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer.

IRWD has retained Norm Roberts of Roberts Consulting Group, an executive search firm who will begin immediately. It is anticipated that the selection process will be concluded in approximately four to six months.

To learn more about IRWD please visit www.irwd.com.

Contact: info@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500

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Located in central Orange County in California, IRWD provides water, wastewater, recycled water and urban runoff management services to a population of 340,000 in Irvine, Tustin Ranch, Portola Hills, Foothills Ranch, Santa Ana Heights, Orange Park Acres and portions of Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Orange and unincorporated Orange County.

IRWD Customers enjoy low water rates and a reliable water supply

Irvine Ranch Water District provided OCBC Infrastructure Committee members with an update yesterday on state and local water supply projects and programs designed to improve water supply reliability for local residents during water shortages.

“IRWD’s efforts over the past 20 years have paid off and our customers will benefit from a highly reliable water supply, even during drought conditions,” said newly appointed IRWD Interim General Manager Paul Cook. “IRWD customers have the water they need at some of the lowest rates in Orange County.”

This did not happen by accident, but rather from excellent long range planning and timely execution of new groundwater storage and production, recycled water and water use efficiency projects.

“At IRWD we are all about planning for the future and finding new and exciting opportunities to provide both water reliability and water rate stability to our customers” said IRWD Board President Steven LaMar, an OCBC Infrastructure Committee member.

A good example of these planning efforts is IRWD’s water banking program. The goal of this program is to meet 15% of IRWD water needs over a three-year period under water shortage conditions.

IRWD has a diversified water supply portfolio of local groundwater, imported water, and recycled water as well as a nationally-recognized water conservation program designed to further reduce the need for importing water.  To find out more about IRWD water supply programs please visit www.IRWD.com.

Fun-Filled, Informational Event for the Whole Family

The Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh will once again be the site of the Sea and Sage Audubon Society’s annual Summer Barbecue on Saturday, July 30 from 5:30-10 p.m. IRWD collaborates with the Audubon as a environmental and education partner.

“This is an opportunity for us to get together and celebrate another year of chapter activities and stories,” said Bruce Aird, chapter president. “To do so in such a wonder facility set in a beautiful habitat just makes it even better.”

Audubon volunteers will be serving up barbecued chicken and hot dogs, salad, chips, fresh fruit, dessert, lemonade, soft drinks and coffee. A vegetarian entrée is also available upon request.

The evening’s keynote speaker is Paul Bannick, a nature photographer and environmentalist, who will share pictures of 19 North American owls and 22 North American woodpeckers, along with their vocalizations. He is the author of “The Owl and the Woodpecker,” published in 2008 featuring close and intimate photos of these birds hunting, resting, feeding their young, fighting, eating, grooming and excavating nesting cavities.

The evening will also feature bird walks, bat walks and guided stargazing. For more information about the annual barbecue, please visit the Sea and Sage website. For information about IRWD’s environmental programs and partnerships, please visit www.irwd.com and click on the environment tab.

Campers learn about Owl Pellets, Edible Aquifers and the IRWD Marsh

The Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh and Learning Center are humming with summer camp activity. Youngsters of all ages are enjoying camps hosted by Discovery Science Center and the Sea and Sage Audubon Society.

Discovery Science Center offers six one-week camp sessions for children ages five through 10. Five and six year old campers join the Summer Smiles Camp, where they investigate the world of frogs, butterflies and flora, and even get to play in the dirt. Older campers, ages seven through 10, participate in Project Discovery Camp, which caters to future engineers and builders by providing hands-on activities such as building wind-powered cars, dropping eggs without breaking them and constructing catapults. Campers even explore chemistry basics. Camps run from July through the middle of August.

On a recent day of camp the Discovery Room, Discovery Science Center instructor, Karyn Nagel, demonstrated to the Summer Smiles campers how to make an edible aquifer out of chocolate chips, lemon-lime soda and vanilla ice cream. The real challenge lay in convincing the youngsters not to touch their full cups, while Nagel explained what an aquifer is and what the various components represented. 

The Sea and Sage Chapter of the Audubon Society also hosts a variety of summer camps at the IRWD Marsh and Learning Center including Fledgling Camp for youngsters age seven and eight and Coastal Bird Camp and Advanced Bird Camp, for children 11 years and older. These popular camps sell out every year.

"We have been doing these camps since 1993, with our wonderful volunteers," said Trude Hurd, Sea and Sage Marsh Education Project Director. In all, 24 Audubon volunteers work throughout the year organizing the camps, which begin at the end of June and continue through the end of July.

Last week the nine through 12-year-olds in the Marsh Bird Camp were about to dissect owl pellets, which are not what you might think they are. Because owls don't chew their food, the soft portions of their prey are digested, while the harder materials such as bone, fur and hair congeal together in a mass, which is regurgitated. These masses are known as owl pellets. Volunteer Bev Spring gave the campers tips about effective dissection.

"I normally don't lead this camp, but I come in to teach the pellets section because no one else will do it," Spring said, laughing.

Please visit the Community Programs section of www.irwd.com for more information on summer camps at the Marsh and all the IRWD student and community education programs.