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. 

The National Purchasing Institute has bestowed the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award to IRWD for the twelfth year in a row.

“We are proud to be one of 40 agencies in California to receive this award,” said Tony Mossbarger, IRWD Director of Administrative Services. “The Board of Directors and staff give us the tools to effectively do our jobs.”

In 1995, the National Purchasing Institute established a program designed to recognize organizational excellence in public procurement. The prestigious Achievement of Excellence in Procurement is awarded annually and earned by those organizations that demonstration excellence by obtaining a high score based on standardized criteria.

For more information about purchasing, or doing business with IRWD, please visit our website.

With more than 933 miles of sewer mains, and 14 sewage pump stations conveying millions of gallons of wastewater per day, Irvine Ranch Water District maintains a goal of zero sewer spills, and takes a proactive approach, rather than a reactive to inspection and maintenance of these facilities.

“Wastewater collections systems can be vulnerable to potential failure, with probable impacts to the environment and to public safety,” said Greg Springman, IRWD Collection Systems Manager.

IRWD’s collection system (sewer system) serves a population of 330,000 including all of the city of Irvine, Newport Coast, and portions of Tustin, Lake Forest, Orange and Costa Mesa. It’s important to point out that IRWD does not maintain storm drains, which is a separate system from sewers.

The District has 17 collection system employees who keep the sewer lines flowing, maintain lift stations, manhole covers and respond to emergencies. There is a fleet of specialized vehicles that help workers do their jobs.

Collection system employees use CCTV trucks to monitor various conditions of eight-inch to 60-inch sewer mains using closed circuit television. Employees are able to inspection these sewer mains by inserting an 80-pound brass mechanical tractor, with an attached adjustable camera which resembling a torpedo on wheels. The tractor and camera is then lowered through a manhole opening where it is controlled by an operator,  tethered on a 1,000-foot cable.

The camera travels through the sewer mains while an employee watches the images on a computer screen inside the CCTV truck. Sewer mains are checks for cracks, roots, and any other type of blockages which may occur. Employees also inspect all new sewer mains prior to being placed into service.

Collection system employees also utilize Hydro/Combination Units to cleaning all sewer mains throughout our community. This specialize piece of equipment can carry approximately 1,500 gallons of water, which is pumped through 600 feet of one-inch hose under high-pressure. The high-pressure hose is inserted into the sewer mains through the manhole opening. The high-pressure stream of water scours the pipe walls as it is propelled through the sewer main removing all accumulated debris. Employees also visually inspect the conditions of the manhole structure as well. Special attention is given to inspecting and cleaning sewer mains within shopping centers because of the potential of grease problems from food service establishments.

The collection system must answer to a host of regulatory agencies, including the Santa Ana and San Diego Regional Water Quality Control boards, the county health department, city code enforcement, and potentially, the Department of Fish and Game.

IRWD’s collection system has won the Collection System of the Year award for medium size systems in 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000 from the Santa Ana River Basin Section of the California Water Environment Association. In 1996 and 2000, IRWD went on to win the Collection System of the Year Award for the entire state of California. The award is based on a site inspection, regulatory compliance and evaluation of preventive maintenance programs, corrective maintenance programs, safety programs and procedures, training programs and emergency procedures.

Seventh and eighth grade students interested in pursuing careers in science and engineering had the opportunity to meet with Irvine Ranch Water District professionals at the Irvine Unified School District’s annual Science Career Options Conference at the University of California, Irvine, on December 18.

Jacob Moeder, a civil engineer for IRWD and Melinda Bergen, an IRWD Water Quality supervisor, spoke to students, explaining the level of education needed to achieve their careers and gave examples of their day-to-day duties.

“Did any of you like building things with Legos, Lincoln Logs or Tinker Toys?” Moeder asked the students. “I always liked building things and taking them apart.”

He described the different engineering disciplines and how it takes a collaborative effort to see projects to fruition. And there is always a demand for engineers, he said.

“Everyone has great ideas,” he said. “It’s like playing with the best football team. It’s gratifying.”

He gave a demonstration on settlement, using two similar plates of sand. He placed equal amount of weight on each one, until one of the piles of sand collapsed under the weight. The other stayed upright. How could that be? A single sheet of toilet paper placed just underneath a layer of sand provided enough tensile strength to keep the weights upright.

Before her demonstration, Bergen handed around IRWD’s annual Water Quality Report, explaining that customers always know what is in their water and that it is safe to drink. A student volunteer assisted in a test that determines the presence of chlorine in a sample of ordinary tap water.

Both Moeder and Bergen fielded questions at the end of their presentations. The goal of the conference is to increase student interest and awareness of science-related careers. IRWD has participated in the IUSD Science Careers Options Conference for all 21 years of its existence.

More information about IRWD educational programs is available on our website.