IRWD has been providing sustainable drinking water, recycled water and sewer services to our customers since the 1960s, expanding our facilities as we’ve grown with the communities we serve.

The Michelson Water Recycling Plant was constructed in 1967 and began delivering 2 million gallons of recycled water per day. Today, its capacity has grown 14 times over to 28 million gallons daily.

In 2001, to help supplement our recycled water system, IRWD increased use of recycled water with the Los Alisos Water Recycling Plant in Lake Forest.

In 2014, IRWD partnered with other agencies on the Baker Water Treatment Plant, a regional facility that treats up to 28.1 million gallons of drinking water per day—enough to serve 63,300 households.

Our latest accomplishment, completed this year, is IRWD’s Biosolids and Energy Recovery Facility, which converts the solids from the sewage treatment process into fertilizer and fuel—closing the loop on the District’s goals for sustainable resource recovery.

This is the latest in a series of articles commemorating the District’s 60th anniversary. For more information, visit IRWD.com.

Using water wisely has always been a goal at IRWD. Since the 1990s, we have been increasingly focused on programs to help our customers do just that. Today, IRWD’s Water Efficiency team includes people specializing in drought-tolerant landscaping, leak detection, residential and business water use audits, educational workshops, rebates and analytics

We offer indoor and outdoor rebate programs to help you be more water efficient—including incentives to replace water-thirsty turf with beautiful, drought-tolerant landscaping. Our website has all of the resources and tools to show you how. Other incentives are available to improve the efficiency of your irrigation system programs. Our budget-based rate structure, implemented in 1991, balances customer demands with costs to IRWD for providing that water. Customers who stay within their water budget pay the lowest rates based on actual costs to provide the service, while those who waste water pay more based on our need to buy more expensive water. With your help, these programs and resources are yielding significant results: residential customer water use from 1990 to 2021, on average, has been nearly cut in half. So, thank you! For more information on our rebates, workshops and other resources please visit RightScape.com.

Don’t waste a good thing. Responding to the governor’s request for 15% voluntary water use reductions around the state, IRWD has launched the Drought Response 15% Savings Sweepstakes to encourage customers to do their part to help California. Visit IRWD.com for details and a checklist of water-saving tips. Complete new accomplishments each month through December to increase your savings and your chances to win.

Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District and Irvine Ranch Water District have teamed up to remind residents that mosquito control is a shared responsibility that benefits everyone.

Did you know mosquito bites and water waste are related?

Overwatering and sprinkler system leaks result in wasted water. The smallest puddle of standing water can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes. In fact, the Aedes mosquito can breed in as little as a teaspoon of water!

It can be easy to overlook water waste — but it’s not easy to ignore being bitten by invasive Aedes mosquitoes, commonly known as ankle biters.

Find out what you can do to safeguard your property and avoid mosquito breeding:

• Use the Mosquito Source Checklist to find and eliminate breeding sources on your property: bit.ly/MosquitoChecklist
• Learn how frequently you should water your yard: WateringGuide.com
• Program your sprinkler timer for each season: bit.ly/ProgramSprinkler
• Refer to the landscape checklist to check your sprinkler system for optimal operation: bit.ly/LandscapeChecklist