The Irvine Ranch Water District’s water tapping team, “Turbo Tappers,” once again demonstrated their expertise during the Orange County Water Association’s annual water tapping contest last week at Irvine Lake. Water tapping teams go head-to-head with their peers in the industry, representing other water districts and city water departments.

“Our team demonstrates highly trained professionalism that our customers have come to expect,” said David Pedersen, IRWD Executive Director of Operations.

This was the fourth consecutive year IRWD has participated in the contest. The timed competition involves three team members who tap into a pressurized water pipe using specialized tools. Copper pipe is then connected to a faucet. When all connections are made, the faucet is turned on, replicating connection from a water main to a domestic meter. The fourth team member serves as coach, who not only advises, but cheers the team on.

Teams are judged not only on the time it took to tap the pipe, but adherence to contest rules, use of safety equipment and if there are any leaks present.

Please enjoy the photo gallery below and visit www.irwd.com for more water information.

Stop by the South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the annual Residential Demonstration Landscape Open House and Vendor Fair. The facility is located at 7601 Irvine Boulevard. This is the fourth consecutive year that UC Extension and Irvine Ranch Water District cooperated on this event.

“There will be guided garden walks, discussions about gardening and irrigation practices and plant sales,” said Nick Mrvos, IRWD Senior Conservation Specialist. “Fifty percent of all household water use is in the yard, so residents can find out how to cut back on watering and save money.”

There is no charge for admission to this event. Here is a sampling of what customers can expect at the Open House:

• A discussion about edible landscaping
• Home ant control, easy as 1,2,3
• Irrigation product information
• A demonstration on self-watering vegetable garden containers
• Composting – learn how to turn yard waste into black gold
• Children’s activity – planting seeds
• Sample varieties of fruit grown at the South Coast Research and Extension Center
• Free tool sharpening by OC Blacksmiths
• Random opportunities throughout the day

For more information about the Landscape Open House, please visit UCCE Demonstration Landscape Open House.

Saurabh Patil of Boy Scout Troop 616 in Irvine has successfully completed a portable informational kiosk for the Shadetree Partnership nursery at UC Irvine for his Eagle Scout Project. He presented his project at a Shadetree Board of Directors meeting held at Irvine Ranch Water District on October 18.

“When I was looking for a project, I found out about Shadetree,” Saurabh said. “Others from my troop had done projects for Shadetree andI was attracted to the environmental aspect of the organization.”

Shadetree Partnership is a non-profit organization that donates water-efficient trees for planting at parks, schools and other public property.

Saurabh got material donations from home improvement stores and raised money by holding garage sales and recycling. Over a three-day period, Saurabh and his 21 volunteers built the kiosk, which will hold fliers, certificates and a donation box. He donated the money he had left over from his project to Shadetree.

Saurabh, 17, attends Northwood High School and has been scouting since the age of seven. He has gone through all of the Scout ranks with a core group of friends who have been involving in the troop as long as he has. The group of eight will have their court of honor together to receive their Eagle status next summer.

Saurabh hopes to go to college as a pre-medical student and become a pediatrician, following in the footsteps of his grandfather in India.

“I have wanted to do that since I was very young,” he said. “I always admired my grandfather’s work.”

For more information about IRWD environmental programs, please visit our website. Visit Shadetree Partnership’s website for more information.

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

Beginning this week, students in the Middle Earth housing community at University of California, Irvine will compete against each other in an effort to reduce water consumption and promote environmental sustainability.

“Ivine Ranch Water District prides itself in being a leader in water use efficiency in California and is committed to evaluating new technologies and strategies,” said IRWD Assistant Director of Water Policy, Fiona Sanchez. “With the Water Battle, we’re excited to see how real-time information about water use and the spirit of competition can produce long-term water savings and where better to do this than at one of the leading universities in the state?”

For four weeks, indoor water consumption for each of the eighteen dormitories will be tracked, including toilet flushing, shower usage and faucets. Throughout the battle, students can check each dormitory’s standing in real-time through the Aquacue dashboard which reports how much water each dormitory has used up to that point. A base rate of water consumption was recorded during the first two weeks of the school session to serve as the water savings benchmark.

This battle of epic proportions is the result of a partnership between IRWD and UCI. IRWD supplied UCI Student Housing with Aquacue’s Barnacles, which are small electronic devices that attach onto water meters and transmit real-time water use data via a cellular network to a cloud-based software program that is accessible from the internet. 

The contest is fitting for a campus that is committed to sustainability and has made a priority to implement environmentally-friendly upgrades throughout campus.

In keeping with the theme of environmental sustainability, UCI has focused its outreach efforts through a paperless campaign, employing the use of social media, email blasts and word of mouth to increase awareness. Students are encouraged to utilize standard, such as taking shorter showers, while also developing and sharing  creative methods to reduce water consumption.

In addition to bragging rights and a celebratory feast, the UCI Department of Student Housing will provide the winning dormitory with a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice, made in their honor.  

Please visit our website for more conservation information.