What Does IRWD Do For You?
Prudent Financial Planning Results in Low Rates and Safe, Reliable Water Supply
At the Irvine Ranch Water District, our gold standard is more than just a color – it’s a tangible asset, one that provides our customers with a reliable and safe water supply at the lowest possible cost. 
This does not happen by accident. It is the result of careful planning, prudent use of resources and the solid creative leadership that is the hallmark of the Irvine Ranch Water District.
Our gold standard for reliability, customer service and low rates often invites questions from our customers, the media and other government agencies. Some are interested in learning about our innovative approach to water use efficiency or our ability to find and implement new water supply sources for our customers. Others are curious to learn how IRWD maintains its strong financial position, despite the prolonged economic downturn. And, there those who just don’t understand that we can do this, and more, and still provide our customers with the lowest rates in Orange County.
There is a simple answer to those questions. At IRWD we don’t live for the present, we plan for the future. Long-range water resource planning has allowed IRWD to develop a diverse water supply, ensuring reliability even when conditions change or systems fail. Long-range financial planning, similar to a family that regularly sets aside money for a child’s college education, allows IRWD to fund infrastructure replacement projects without dramatic increases in customer rates. Through our long-range environmental stewardship programs, IRWD operates and maintains state-of-the-art water recycling and urban runoff treatment facilities to protect the communities we serve.
Planning for the future gives our customers today’s gold standard in service and reliability. Our core belief is that we serve the public, which is why we are committed to providing the highest value to our customers in the form of the lowest possible costs on their bill, not just today, but over the long term.
We welcome the questions and are honored to provide our customers with a high level of transparency and easy access to information. To learn more about the IRWD gold standard of excellence in service visit our website at www.irwd.com.
Irvine Ranch Water District Recognizes Student Artist
Aanya Jain’s Poster Published in 2012 Calendar
Irvine Ranch Water District service area student Aanya Jain was among 36 students whose conservation-themed poster was chosen to appear in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s 2012 “Water is Life” calendar.
“With so many talented student artists, it was especially challenging for our team of judges to choose only 36 from a total of 164 awesome pieces of artwork,” said Charlotte Golden of MWD.
Aanya was a fifth grade student at Oak Creek Elementary School in Irvine when her poster was selected by IRWD for participation in the regional contest. IRWD received more than 300 entries and chose five finalists sent to Metropolitan for final judging. Student artists from all over Southern California were honored at Metropolitan on December 7. IRWD has participated in the contest all 23 years of its existence and has had at least one winner each year.
Aanya, now a sixth grader at Oak Creek, said she was inspired to depict a girl in her poster brushing her teeth with the water turned off because she believes people in her age group need that message.
The 36 posters will be featured in a traveling art show set up in the lobbies of participating water districts, including IRWD at a future date. Please visit www.irwd.com for an announcement of the arrival of the student art show.
IRWD Board Selects New Leadership
Board President and Vice President Named at Annual Reorganization Meeting
The Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors at its December 12 meeting selected Mary Aileen Matheis to serve as President and John Withers to serve as Vice President for 2012.
“I am thrilled and pleased that I was selected to serve as President for 2012,” Matheis said. “I am looking forward to the year ahead.”
She has been a member of the Board since 1988. She previously served as Board President in 2001, the first and only woman to hold the position. She has served on several standing IRWD committees and currently is a member of the Water Resources Policy and Communications Committee. She also serves on the ACWA Legal Affairs Committee.
Withers joined the Board in 1989 and served as President in 2004. He serves on the Engineering and Operations and Asset Management Committees as well as various Ad Hoc Committees.
The Board meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 5 p.m. at the District offices at 15600 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine.
For more information about the IRWD Board of Directors, please visit our website.
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.
