Today officially kicks off the season of holiday cooking and enjoyment of those culinary delights. Some might have the traditional turkey dinner and others might prefer ham or a roast. Deep frying turkey has become a favorite method for preparing the holiday bird in recent years. No matter how the meal is prepared, it will certainly generate fats, oils and grease, or FOG. A high-fat diet of grease and oil can be fatal to sewer systems.

“It’s very important that these bi-products of the holiday meal not be poured down the drain,” says David Pedersen, IRWD Executive Director of Operations. “Grease solidifies in pipes and is the main cause of sewer spills over the holidays.”

When oil and grease is poured down the drain, it sticks to pipes, and can cause sewer clogs. Worst case scenario, raw sewage could back up into your home. Dousing greasy dishes in soapy water doesn't eradicate the problem - dishwashing liquid only breaks the grease down into smaller particles; it doesn't "dissolve" it.

Here are some tips on how to dispose of fats, oils and grease and prevent costly repairs and spills:

• Place left over grease into containers with lids, such as jars, and place into a trash receptacle for pick up on trash day.
• Mix oils with absorbent materials, such as coffee grounds, put in a lidded container and dispose with the trash.
• If cleaning a greasy pan, pour grease into a container and wipe excess grease from the pan with paper towels. Place the towels into the trash.
• If using a deep fat fryer, mix oils with absorbent material, such as cat litter, or soak up excess oil with newspaper and put into the trash.
• If you live in an apartment building or condominium complex, ask your manager if the complex has a grease trap or grease interceptor and encourage them to maintain it properly. Do your part to keep grease out of the complex's sewer lines.

For more information about the FOG program, please visit our website.

Water moving by gravity through pipes in the Irvine Ranch Water District distribution system creates water pressure. Because elevations within the IRWD service area range from sea level to 1,700 feet, the water system is engineered to provide a normal water pressure range of 50-100 pounds per square inch to homes and businesses in most areas.

“The water pressure at your home depends on the elevation of your home and its proximity to the nearest reservoir,” says Dave Pedersen, IRWD Executive Director of Operations.

Certain events such as a pipeline break, fire, or local construction activity can cause low water pressure in the system. If, however, you have been experiencing low water pressure in your home for a prolonged period of time, it may be the result of a problem at your residence.

In some areas of the District, pressure regulators were installed on homes in compliance with local building codes. These areas typically experience high water pressure. The regulators provide protection for household plumbing fixtures that can be sensitive to high water pressure.

The pressure regulator is a bell-shaped device and is typically installed on the inlet pipe, next to the hose bib and house valve. The regulators are preset by the manufacturer at about 80 psi. In most cases, they do not need to be adjusted. Incorrectly adjusting the regulator could cause water pressure that is too low or too high inside the home.

IRWD cannot make repairs or adjust pressure regulators because they are considered part of a homeowner’s private water system. Only a qualified plumber should make these adjustments.

Maintaining the correct water pressure throughout the system keeps the water supply safe. Any severe or prolonged drop in water pressure should be reported immediately to IRWD’s 24-hour service number: (949) 453-5300. Please check out our website for more information.

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

If there is another possible use for recycled water, Irvine Ranch Water District employee Greg Herr will find a way to make it happen. For many of his 25 years at the District, Herr has worked to locate and convert areas not served with recycled water.

“I enjoy finding unique uses for recycled water,” Herr said. “It’s a very important resource.”

Three years ago, Herr was the project manager for converting Robertson’s Ready Mix Concrete in Irvine to recycled water use in concrete batch mixing. Industrial use of recycled water costs 40 percent less than domestic water, significantly reducing operations costs for customers. The plant uses approximately 20,000 gallons of water per day to process concrete.

Converting Robertson’s was the first such use for recycled water in Orange County.

Herr oversaw conversion of a portion of the Irvine Lake pipeline that serves 10 agricultural customers to recycled water for irrigation last year. This culminated more than two years of research and cooperation between the impacted customers, many departments within IRWD, and outside regulatory agencies to implement the project.

Up until that time, those customers were using water from Irvine Lake, which is supplied with untreated water purchased from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, as well as native runoff water.

Herr is currently working to combine recycled water from the same meter to serve both irrigation and air conditioning cooling towers.

Herr began his IRWD duties in 1987 in the warehouse, where he spent two years before moving to the recycled water team.

 A few years later, he moved into planning and spent 10 years ensuring that IRWD engineering projects conform to the California Environmental Quality Act.

“But I never lost my interest in working on recycled water projects,” he said. “So in 2004, I transitioned back into working with the guys I enjoy so much and along-side the On-Site Group.”

It’s the creative work of promoting recycled water use that Greg enjoys so much.

During his IRWD tenure, he returned to school and received his bachelor’s degree in sociology and master’s degree in policy and planning. He also holds certificates in cross-connection and Distribution Grade II.

IRWD began researching and working toward recycled water for indoor use in high-rise buildings in 1987. The first indoor use for recycled water use was in October 1990, when a restroom building located in a park in the Woodbridge neighborhood of Irvine was converted for toilet flushing.

The following year, the first high-rise to convert to recycled water use for toilet flushing was the 20-story 3 Park Plaza in Jamboree Center in Irvine.

The Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors, at its annual organizational meeting December 10, selected Douglas J. Reinhart to serve as President and Steven E. LaMar to serve as Vice President for 2013.

Reinhart was appointed to the IRWD Board of Directors in 2004 to fill a board vacancy and was subsequently appointed to a four-year term in 2006 when he ran unopposed for election. He served as President of the Board in 2009 and 2010, having previously served as Vice President in 2006 and President in 2007. Reinhart currently serves on the District's Water Resources Policy and Communications committee and the Engineering and Operations Committee.

He is a registered civil engineer with over 30 years of experience in the private sector, directing projects in water, wastewater and other infrastructure. Reinhart was the president and an owner of ASL Consulting Engineers before its acquisition by Tetra Tech in 1999. He then served as the Divisional Executive Vice President for Tetra Tech for the western United States. Reinhart retired from Tetra Tech in 2004 and began a consulting business.

Reinhart has a variety of water industry service. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the Southern California Water Committee, the American Water Works Association Desalination Committee and the Association of California Water Agencies Water Reuse Committee. In addition, he is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Public Works Association and the Consulting Engineers Association of California.

LaMar was appointed to the Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors in February 2009 to fill a vacancy and was subsequently elected to the board in 2010. He served as Board President in 2011.

LaMar is a water policy and planning expert with over 20 years of experience on statewide business and industry committees and has directly participated in many major water policy forums.  He has served on statewide task forces and advisory committees on drought planning, desalination, the California Bay-Delta, the California Water Plan and on water reliability and conservation issues.  LaMar is president and owner of LegiSight, LLC, located in Tustin, CA, and is also a principal for Spinner LaMar Associates since 1993. He has served as a water policy leader in the California Building Industry Association for 20 years.