Registration is open for Sea & Sage Audubon Society’s nature day camps. The organization offers a variety of camps at IRWD’s beautiful San Joaquin Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary: Fledgling Camp for children ages 7 and 8; Marsh Birds Camp for ages 9 to 12; plus Advanced Bird Camp and Birds, Bugs, Blossoms for 11 and older.

Each camp features daily nature walks, journaling, research and art projects. Information and enrollment forms are available at seaandsageaudubon.org. Register today, because camps fill up quickly.

Your toilet is not the place to dump unmentionables. Many products are unsuitable for flushing, including sanitary products, wipes and medications.

Each year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration hosts National Prescription Drug Take Back Day to prevent drugs, particularly opioids, from getting into the wrong hands. In 2017, the event collected a record 456 tons of pills.

In observance of this year’s Take Back Day on April 28, IRWD reminds you not to flush medications. Take them to a collection receptacle at a police agency or participating drug store, such as Walgreens at 13052 Newport Avenue in Tustin. To find a year-round collection center near you, visit takebackday.dea.gov or call 800-882-9539.

Drugs can harm wildlife and pollute the ecosystem. So please dispose of pharmaceuticals properly.

Will you pledge to conserve water this month? If so, you and your city could both be winners.

Before the end of April, just click on mywaterpledge.com and make a series of online pledges as part of the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. Cities with the most pledges in each of five population categories will win. And participants from winning cities will be entered to receive hundreds of environmentally friendly prizes, such as $5,000 for home utilities, water-saving fixtures and home improvement gift cards.

Irvine is in it to win it. “I am hopeful that what is a short-term challenge for our residents becomes a long-term practice of conservation,” Mayor Donald P. Wagner said. For more information, see cityofirvine.org.

The Irvine Ranch Water District Board of Directors has begun the public process to evaluate moving from an at-large election process to division-based elections. The resolution titled “Intent to Initiate the Process of Establishing Divisions and Elections by Divisions” was formally adopted by the IRWD Board on April 2, 2018.

IRWD currently uses an at-large method to elect the members of its Board of Directors. The at-large method allows voters from the entire service area to elect each of the five members of the Board of Directors. A by-division method divides a service area into separate divisions and allows the voters in each division to elect a member of the Board of Directors. Since the enactment of the California Voting Rights Act in 2001, many local governments have gone through a similar public process to evaluate moving to division-based elections.

The IRWD Board of Directors has a strong record of maximizing participation in District affairs by all of our customers. From landscaping and water use efficiency classes to free in-home water-use audits, bilingual programs and websites, IRWD offers meaningful programs and services that provide value to all of our customers. IRWD's comprehensive customer service programs, in conjunction with water and sewer rates that are the lowest in the area, help all area residents, especially those of limited means. Our customers have responded by giving the District a customer satisfaction rating that is consistently over 95%.

IRWD is committed to undertaking a meaningful public process that allows for full public participation, public input, and careful consideration of a transition to by-division elections. We will continue to keep our customers informed on this issue. Please continue to check irwd.com for updates.