There is nothing like feasting on freshly made pancakes in the setting of the Irvine Ranch Water District’s San Joaquin Marsh on a cool autumn morning.

It’s once again time for the Sea and Sage Audubon Society’s 24th annual pancake breakfast. The event is scheduled for October 29 from 7:30-10:30 a.m.

Come enjoy flapjacks and sausage hot off the griddle, fresh fruit, orange juice, coffee and milk. After filling your tummies, take a guided walk around the ponds to view the bird life and browse through the collection of used books for sale. Bring your binoculars. There will be spotting scopes set up for maximum bird viewing.

Reservations are required by calling the Audubon House at (949) 261-7963 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. The cost of the breakfast is $10 for adults and $6 for children age six or under. Children under age three are free.

There is something for everyone at the pancake breakfast. Bird walks are scheduled during the morning, before and after breakfast. The book sale begins at 7 a.m.

Stop by the Education table for a great exhibit showcasing some of the art projects the kids made at camp this past summer. Learn about opportunities for adult volunteers to help share a love of nature with school children. Find out about the new education program which combines art with science, plus a host of other exciting education activities to investigate.

On the Duck Club back porch, Optics4Birding will be displaying some of their optics equipment for birders. This is a good opportunity for you to check out the latest in binoculars or scopes and ask questions.

Inside the Duck Club, there will be ample information about the Sea and Sage chapter and many ways to become involved. Raffle cards may be stamped for entry into the drawing for special prizes.

Near the welcome take by the Audubon House, Wild Birds Unlimited will have a have a table with bird seed, feeders, and other bird feeding items. Representatives will be happy to answer questions about how or what to feed your birds, where to place your bird bath, what plants attract birds and more.

Don't forget to stop by Audubon House to see the taxidermy birds on display, browse through the gift shop and book store, and check out the newly reorganized reference library. Volunteers inside Audubon House will be available to answer questions about Sea and Sage, birds, conservation issues, and education.

Check out the Sea and Sage website for more information.

Your business could be recognized by Irvine Ranch Water District for its water conservation efforts by enrolling in the new WaterStar program.

This recently launched program recognizes and rewards local water-efficient businesses.

Local companies will be assisted in achieving water-use efficiency, save on water bills and obtain financial incentives for efficiency improvement. Any commercial, industrial and institutional customers, including landscaping companies managing irrigation sites within the IRWD service area, are welcome to apply.

Eligible businesses and institutions can apply for the WaterStar Program Certification any time throughout the year. The certification is good for three years.

Businesses who obtain WaterStar certification earn the use of the WaterStar logo for display, web posting and advertising. These businesses will also receive an award, presented at an IRWD board meeting, acknowledging their water conservation achievements.

Details on the program criteria and how to obtain WaterStar certification are available on our website. Once you have reviewed and determined you meet the eligibility requirments, complete and submit the online application.

Cutting-edge Project Will Help Address California’s Water-Energy Nexus

IRVINE and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Clean tech energy storage leader Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) and the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) today announced a public-private partnership to install the largest network of energy storage systems at a public water agency in the United States. The cutting-edge grid support project will enable the public water agency to store energy, making it available to reduce demand from the grid when requested by the utility without interrupting water treatment operations and reducing the need for additional supply from fossil fuel generation in a region challenged by the closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

This innovative partnership puts IRWD at the forefront of addressing one of California’s great environmental challenges – the “water/energy nexus.” Water and energy use are inextricably intertwined – the pumping, treatment and distribution of water requires significant amounts of electricity. Public water agencies are aggressively exploring how best to smooth high energy demands, decrease costs and reduce their carbon footprints.

The system will provide IRWD cost savings of more than $500,000 per year, help stabilize and balance demand on the strapped Southern California electrical grid and ultimately advance IRWD’s sustainability efforts.

“Our agency has stepped forward with an innovative solution designed to protect customers while helping to reduce and better balance Southern California’s energy demands,” said IRWD board president Mary Aileen Matheis. “This battery storage system – the largest in the nation – provides significant cost savings, enhanced grid stability and contributes to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller carbon footprint.”

“We’re proud to partner with IRWD on such an advanced, clean energy project,” said Susan Kennedy, CEO of AMS. “This energy storage system builds on IRWD’s sustainability and efficiency commitment, taking it to a new level in tackling the water-energy nexus.”

The 6.25 MW / 35.7 MWh network will utilize Tesla batteries, installed at 6 of IRWD’s largest and most energy-intensive facilities – including three water treatment and recycling plants, a deep aquifer treatment system, a groundwater desalter facility and six high-energy pumping stations – as part of a major grid modernization project for Southern California Edison (SCE). The energy storage systems will be linked together as a network providing IRWD facility managers real time visibility and operational flexibility in responding to utility requests for demand reduction.

According to the California Energy Commission, the transportation and treatment of water, treatment and disposal of wastewater, and the energy used to heat and consume water account for nearly 20 percent of the total electricity and 30 percent of non-power plant related natural gas consumed in California.

IRWD is already a national leader in sustainability and energy efficiency. In 2015, the District commissioned a groundbreaking study to examine the average amount of energy needed to transport, treat and deliver water to customers on a per unit basis (kWh/AF). Each facility, a pump station or treatment plant for example, has its own “Energy Intensity.” The study provides IRWD with a complete view of its water-energy footprint and will be used with the energy storage systems to reduce the District’s energy and carbon footprint while reducing costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. This is the first instance of a public water agency actively commissioning such research.

The IRWD-AMS Project is supported by a 10-year power-purchase agreement with SCE. Under that agreement, AMS will design, finance, install and operate energy storage systems at IRWD facilities and manage requests from SCE for load reduction at IRWD’s facilities when needed to balance the grid.

“Our utility-scale contracts make possible the realization of guaranteed savings and accomplishment for organizations – particularly public water agencies such as IRWD – with serious energy and emissions reduction goals,” added Kennedy.

About Advanced Microgrid Solutions

Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) is pioneering the use of advanced energy storage systems for electric utility grid support. The company designs, finances, installs and manages advanced energy storage solutions for commercial, industrial and government building owners. AMS’s unique fleet management software provides optimized resource management, cost reduction and revenue generation for large-scale energy users. To learn more, visit www.advmicrogrid.com.

About Irvine Ranch Water District

Irvine Ranch Water District is the largest retail water agency in Orange County, California. Established in 1961, IRWD provides high-quality drinking water, reliable wastewater collection and treatment, ground-breaking recycled water programs, and environmentally sound urban runoff treatment to more than 390,000 residents. As an independent, not-for-profit public agency, IRWD is governed by a five-member publicly elected Board of Directors. To learn more, visit www.irwd.com. A PDF of this article is available here.

Whether it’s a shopping cart, construction debris, soda cans or other garbage, getting those items out of creeks and rivers before it’s dumped onto the beach is the mission of Inner-Coastal Watershed Clean Up Day on the third Saturday in September.

The event coincides with Coastal Clean Up Day, but instead of fanning out on the shoreline, volunteers gather to clean inland tributaries – like San Diego Creek in Irvine, for example. Irvine Ranch Water District hosted a cleanup site at San Diego Creek, adjacent to the Michelson Water Recycling Plant, for the 16^th consecutive year.

Trails 4All has organized the Inner-Coastal Clean Up for 20 years.

More than 100 volunteers gathered to clean up the creek and found a bounty of treasure hidden in the weeds. A group from teacher Angie Oliveras’ Northwood High School advanced placement environmental science class unearthed the grand prize – a couch. Another group from Northwood found a shopping cart and a tent – that showed signs it had been lived in at one time.

Members of Boy Scout Troop 818 found another shopping cart and an airline ticket from two months ago. Other items of interest were construction debris that might have fallen off trucks on the freeway, cans, bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags, golf balls, a pool ball and a cart wheel, a portion of a Rubick’s cube, pieces of metal and host of fast food containers.

Rick and Jon Lyman were a father and son team. Jon, 17, attends University High School.

“This is something we can do together,” Rick said, placing their filled bags into the trash bin.

“Now, we’re off for doughnuts,” Jon added.

Ban Campbell, a youth pastor, brought several young people from his church and they filled several bags.

“This is a great experience,” he said.

Students participating could receive service hours for their efforts. Over the years, more than 30,000 volunteers have cleaned up one million pounds of trash and recyclables at sites in Orange and Riverside counties.