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.

In recognition of its ongoing commitment to open governance and operations, Irvine Ranch Water District this week was awarded the District Transparency Certificate of Excellence from the Special District Leadership Foundation, an organization that since 1999 has promoted excellence in local government.

SDLF created the certificate program to promote public transparency and give agencies an opportunity to showcase their methods for engaging with the public and keeping them informed.

The application required — among other things — proof of policies related to codes of ethics and public disclosure, compliance with the Ralph M. Brown open-meetings act, ethics training for board members, financial audits, and other public outreach and communication via the District website, printed materials and public events.

Senior Public Affairs Specialist Connie Ho worked with staff members in various departments to track down documentation and web links — methodically checking off a list of more than 50 items required to apply.

“It was a huge effort, but I’m really excited we earned the certificate,” Ho said. “It shows that we meet the highest standards of transparency, and that’s a good thing when it comes to building trust with the people and communities we serve.”

The application process shed light on ways IRWD could improve its engagement with the public, Ho said. One change made as a result of that experience was to more clearly link to Board of Directors agendas from the irwd.com home page.

General Manager Paul Cook said the District Transparency Certificate of Excellence is gratifying recognition for the District because it acknowledges IRWD’s commitment to open and effective governance.

“This certificate affirms our pledge to be ethical, transparent and accountable in everything we do,” Cook said. “Ultimately, it all boils down to the character of our staff, who have played an important role in shaping the District into what it is today.”

A caravan of 18-wheelers and large hoisting cranes completed delivery on Tuesday of 75 high-efficiency Tesla batteries to the Michelson Water Recycling Plant, where they will be installed as part of Irvine Ranch Water District’s money-saving Energy Storage Program.

For those keeping a running tally – that makes two sites down, nine more to go.

Even with many shipments, setups and connections still needed to make the overall project complete, IRWD General Manager Paul Cook said the Energy Storage Program is turning heads in the industry.

“We call this our award-winning project,” he said. “It’s not even finished yet, but this program is already drawing a lot of interest from all over the country and Canada.” (It has already won the Golden Hub of Innovation Award from the Association of California Cities, Orange County; and the Best Energy Program Award for medium utilities from the California Municipal Utilities Association.)

IRWD’s Energy Storage Program is the nation’s largest network of energy storage systems at a public agency. The purpose of the 6.25 MW/35.7 MWh system is two-fold: It allows the district to store energy when rates are lowest, making it available at peak hours when rates are highest; it also provides a stored source of power for Southern California Edison to tap into when necessary to avoid interruptions in service.

The system will be installed at 6 of IRWD’s largest and most energy-intensive facilities: water recycling plants, water treatment plants, and high-energy pumping stations.

To date, batteries have been installed and are in operation at the Deep Aquifer Treatment System. The Michelson system will be operational soon, and all other locations are scheduled to be up and running by the end of 2018.

The system will be owned and operated by Advanced Microgrid Solutions. The company’s software and predictive algorithms regulate the use, transfer and storage of power in the system for optimum efficiency. A private-public partnership between AMS and IRWD ensures that the water district will save at least $500,000 in energy costs each year. Any excess savings in power will be split between the two partners.

IRWD didn’t have to buy or finance the system, but the district still reaps the rewards, Cook explained.

“It sounds great, green and friendly, but it’s really a money-saver right now,” he said. “When we hook it up with renewable sources of energy, that’s when it will really be green.”

Workers guide one of the system’s battery storage compartments onto its platform at IRWD’s Michelson Water Recycling Plant.

A forklift operator raises a wrapped Tesla battery storage compartment from the bed of a semi-trailer truck during delivery.

IRWD General Manager Paul Cook, right, discusses details of the system with Senior Engineer Jacob Moeder, left, and Project Superintendent Dave Mercer of Core States.