San Diego Creek Cleaned of Junk Before it Reached the Shore
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 16th 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.
Annual Landscape Open House at UC Extension On Tap
Looking for expert landscape advise? Come to the annual Urban Landscape and Garden Education Expo on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine.
The facility is located at 7601 Irvine Boulevard. This is the sixth consecutive year that UC Extension and Irvine Ranch Water District cooperated on this event.
Included in the daylong event are guided garden walks, discussions about gardening and irrigation practices, and plant sales. Fifty percent of all household water use is in the yard, so residents can find out how to cut back on watering and save money.
There is no charge for admission to this event. Here is a sampling of what customers can expect at the Open House:
- Visit with gardening industry vendors
- Attend presentations by UC researchers and landscape aficionados
- Check out the various demonstrations throughout the day
- Learn about composting, irrigation and container planting
- Children’s activity – planting seeds
- Sample varieties of fruit grown at the South Coast Research and Extension Center
- Free tool sharpening (limit two small garden tools)
- Random opportunity drawings throughout the day
Visit the South Coast Research and Extension Center website, or contact Tammy Majcherek tjmajcherek@ucanr.edu for more information.
Help Clean the Beach Without Going to the Beach
All that trash that winds up on our shores isn’t necessarily left there by careless beach-goers, it might have been tossed onto the ground many miles away. Then it might have found its way into a storm drain, which eventually empties onto the beach.
This is the premise behind Inner-Coastal Watershed Clean Up Day, now in its 20th year.
Irvine Ranch Water District will host a clean up site for the 16th consecutive year on Saturday, September 17. Drop by the site on Riparian View, just off Michelson Drive, to do your part in helping the environment. The clean up is slated for 8:30 a.m. to noon and no pre-registration is required.
The site is one of 23 such sites that span the foothills to the coast. IRWD joins forces with Trails 4All, which conceived the idea of Inner-Coastal Watershed Clean Up Day in conjunction with Coastal Clean Up Day 20 years ago.
Over the years, thousands of volunteers have participated in cleaning up more than one million pounds of trash and recyclable materials.
Nearly all of inland Orange County is covered, much of the Coyote Creek Watershed along the Los Angeles and Orange County border, and expansion continues upwards along the greater Santa Ana River Watershed.
While Coastal Clean Up Day focuses on cleaning trash from the beach, Inner-Coastal Watershed Clean Up Day concentrates on getting trash out of the tributaries before it hits the beach. Trash dropped on the street ends up in storm drains and eventually finds itself on the coastline.
IRWD’s site is located off Michelson Drive on Riparian View, adjacent San Diego Creek and the San Joaquin Marsh. Please wear closed-toed flat shoes, hats, sunscreen and insect repellant. The entire family is invited to learn about environmental stewardship and students can receive community service hours for their participation.
More information on IRWD environmental programs is available on our website.
IRWD Fleet Just Keeps Getting Greener
A new, clean machine has found its way into IRWD’s green fleet – a 2016 Vactor Plus 2100 Combination Sewer Cleaner.
The new Vactor was unveiled at the July 11 board meeting. It joins three other Vactors in the Collection Systems fleet and brings with it new technology. For one, it is powered by a single compressed natural gas (CNG) engine, which offers a 24 percent savings on fuel cost – approximately $60,000 over the life of the machine. It replaces a truck that had been in service since 1997.
The single engine reduces maintenance costs, according to John Dayer, manager of fleet operations. It’s also good for the environment – quiet operation and lower emissions. Line cleaning can use recycled or potable water, with separate fill systems to eliminate potential cross contamination.
The addition of a truck using CNG not only adds to IRWD’s green fleet, which includes hybrids, it is the first of eight heavy duty trucks slated to join the fleet using CNG.
“By the end of the year, 25 percent of our fleet will be green,” Dayer said.
Collections Manager Dorien McElroy appreciates the new safety features on the truck, as well as the technology.
“It’s actually a computerized truck,” McElroy said. “It has a chip that can diagnose any problems – just like the new cars.”
Crews operating the like the option of using potable or recycled water. There are recycled water hydrants dotted throughout Irvine, which were originally installed to serve the city’s street-sweeping fleet.
Make Your Landscape Safe With Fire Resistant Plants
Fire season in Southern California has not been limited to the hot summer and fall months over the past few years. Fires have been reported in winter and spring, as well.
Irvine Ranch Water District customers who live in the foothill and canyon areas are more vulnerable to fires and would benefit from including fire resistant plants in their landscaping plans. Two things many of these plants have in common – they use little water and are attractive.
Below is a small sample of options for homeowners to consider when planting:
- Monkeyflower – this entire species is endorsed for use by the Orange County Fire Authority. Be sure to check out the drought-tolerant varieties.
- California lilac - the California lilac is a large shrub with a dense mass of dark green, one-inch leaves, with dark blue clusters of flowers appearing in spring. It requires good drainage, can tolerate summer water and grows to six feet.
- Autumn sage - nothing evokes California quite like a sage-scented hillside. Beloved by hummingbirds and firefighters alike, the autumn sage is endorsed for use by the Orange County Fire Authority.
- Common yarrow - this appears on fire-resistant lists for the California Native Plant Society and the Orange County Fire Authority.
- French lavender - although not a true California native, this attractive drought-tolerant plant makes fire-resistant lists for Orange County.
- Coast live oak – a handsome shade tree. Round-headed with dense foliage, it grows 20-70 feet tall. It has smooth, dark grey bark, with leathery dark green leaves. It is native to coastal central and Southern California.
- California sycamore - sycamores have delighted generations of Californians, and this particular variety is endorsed for use by the Orange County Fire Authority.
- Toyon - a classic California native, it has white flowers in the summer and berries in the winter. It gets good marks from the Orange County Fire Authority.
For more information about water-efficient planting, check out our website.
