O.C.’s Filipino American Chamber Presents Its Greenest Company Award to IRWD
The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County has honored Irvine Ranch Water District with its 2019 Emerald Award for Greenest Company.
The award — which recognizes IRWD for its environmentally friendly programs such as recycled water and its Energy Storage Project — was presented Sept. 12 at the Chamber’s tenth annual Green & Health Expo in Garden Grove.
“On behalf of the Irvine Ranch Water District, I am quite honored to be here today,” said IRWD Executive Director of Water Policy Paul Weghorst, who accepted the award. “Environmental stewardship is one of our District’s core values, and we take this important recognition to heart.”
The Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County gives Emerald Awards to a select few local companies and agencies whose products, initiatives and business practices benefit the environment, improve local health, and contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
“IRWD is a longtime leader in green and sustainable practices,” Weghorst said, “particularly when it comes to recycled water.”
Since 1963, IRWD has created recycled water by capturing water that goes down the drain in local homes and businesses, then running it through a multi-step treatment process. Today, this drought-proof water makes up a quarter of the District’s supply, saving IRWD from importing expensive water from Northern California or out of state.
Recycled water is not for drinking, but it keeps our community green and beautiful in an environmentally sustainable way. Almost all of the public and commercial landscape in the IRWD service area — including parks, medians, college campuses, homeowners association properties and golf courses — is irrigated with recycled water. It also is used for air conditioning and toilet flushing in some commercial buildings, for fighting wildfires, and for concrete production, composting, and dust control on construction sites. Recycled water reduces the need for additional drinking water facilities and reduces the amount of treated sewage discharged into the ocean. Every gallon of recycled water saves a gallon of drinking water.
IRWD’s Energy Storage Project is a public-private partnership that saves money, promotes energy reliability, and supports a sustainable approach to energy use and water delivery in Orange County. This year IRWD completed installation of a 6.5 MW/35.7 MWh network of Tesla batteries at six of its largest and most energy-intensive facilities, including the Michelson Water Recycling Plant. The project helps stabilize and balance demand on the strapped Southern California electrical grid, and reduces the threat of outages at District facilities and throughout the community.
Program Puts Efficiency on the Menu
Hey, foodies! Is your favorite restaurant water-efficient? You’ll know when you see the WaterStar Restaurant logo in the window.
Irvine Ranch Water District has launched WaterStar Restaurant, a certification for restaurants that improve their water efficiency. We’re inviting restaurants to get involved. The application process includes consultation with an IRWD water efficiency expert and a site visit to assess how efficiently the restaurant is using water—in the kitchen, and for other needs such as restrooms, cooling, heating and landscaping. Restaurants that qualify as WaterStars receive a variety of benefits, including access to special rebates on water-efficient fixtures. And like all IRWD customers who save water, they also save on their water bill.
WaterStar Restaurant is an extension of IRWD’s WaterStar Business program, which already has certified 15 businesses. Collectively, they are saving more than 250 million gallons of water per year for our community. For more information, visit RightScapeNow.com/waterstar.
IRWD Commemorates Special Districts Week
This past week, Irvine Ranch Water District commemorated Special Districts Week to encourage residents to be involved in their community and be civically engaged with their local government.
Special Districts Week, September 22-28, was established by the State Legislature earlier this year with bi-partisan approval of Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 89.
ACR 89 was sponsored by The California Special Districts Association (CSDA), which is a statewide association representing over 1,000 special districts and affiliate organizations throughout the state. Special districts are local government entities created by a community’s residents, funded by those residents, and overseen by those residents, to provide specialized services and infrastructure.
“Special districts are formed by residents to provide essential services that they want and need at the local level. They provide an opportunity to have local control while enhancing services that make communities thrive and survive.” said CSDA’s CEO Neil McCormick. He continued, “We appreciate the Legislature’s support in raising awareness and increasing understanding about the special districts that serve our State’s communities.”
Making the Most of a Good Thing
Irvine Ranch Water District customers see many benefits of recycled water in our community. It’s used to water our lush parks and medians, for business and industrial uses - even for fighting wildfires. It makes up a quarter of IRWD’s water supply, which reduces our dependence on expensive imported water and makes our community more self-sufficient. And that helps keep your water rates low. In short, recycled water is an affordable and drought-proof source of water for many uses, just not for drinking.
How is recycled water stored?
Recycled water is produced every day, rain or shine. Sowe collect it in four seasonal storage reservoirs.However, we don’t have enough capacity forall the water we recycle. In the cool, wet wintermonths, the reservoirs fill up, and we run out ofroom. Then in the summer, when communitiesstart watering again, we don’t have enoughrecycled water—and we need to buy expensiveimported water to make up the difference.
How is IRWD planning for the future?
To be sure recycled water is availablethe community needs it, IRWD is proposing to expand the existing Syphonproposing to expand the existing SyphonReservoir. For more information and avideo explaining the proposed project, see SyphonReservoirProject.com.
Heatwave? No Problem, Thanks to Recycled Water
Hot August nights—and days—can take their toll on landscapes, increasing moisture loss in plants and prompting many communities to let public areas go brown during this taxing time of year.
But not here. IRWD’s recycled water system means streetscapes, parks and common areas can stay green without dipping into our drinking water supply. As long as people continue to take showers, do their laundry and wash dishes, recycled water will remain a plentiful and sustainable resource for the community.
Irrigation is the primary use for recycled water, serving 80% of public and common areas in Irvine Ranch Water District territory. There are many other uses for it as well. To learn more, visit IRWD.com/recycledwater.
