Over the last nine months IRWD customers have reduced their collective water usage by 15 percent, equating to 2.3 billion gallons of water savings. When combined with ongoing population growth in central Orange County, residential per capita water use in the IRWD service area was down to 53 gallons per day for the month of February, which is a new record low for the District.

Despite a February that was the warmest on record and that delivered much less rain than anticipated, IRWD customers continue to use less water than ever before, which is greatly needed in the midst of ongoing drought and restrictive statewide water use regulations. Emergency regulations were recently extended through October 2016 to help ensure water conservation continues in urban areas throughout the summer.

While IRWD’s residential customers have significantly cut back in recent years, the District has observed decreased water consumption in each of its customer classes, which includes Multi-Family, Commercial, Irrigation, Industrial and Institutional. IRWD has historically offered a variety of water conservation programs and resources aimed at helping customers of all types and sizes use less water.

Total per capita water use in the District over the past 12-month period was approximately 125 gallons per day, another all-time low. This compares with 12-month daily per capita water use rates of 150 gallons or more in recent years. In February 2016 alone, total per capita water use was 104 gallons per day.

As part of its ongoing commitment to provide customers with simple and cost-effective means of saving water, IRWD created a new website dedicated to its many water use efficiency programs. RightScapeNow.Com offers a wealth of information, including rebates, landscape design, events & classes and much, much more.

With Spring around the corner, customers are encouraged to consider the following actions for helping reduce their water use during the warmer months:

• Color Your World with a Drought Friendly Landscape – Discover program options and available rebates at the IRWD Turf Removal Center.
• Attend our FREE landscape design and other Rightscape workshops. Details at RightScapeNow.com/events.
• Purchase drought friendly plants at an upcoming Home Depot Garden Sale Event. Next event is scheduled for March 19^th at 8 AM at 6200 Irvine Blvd in Irvine.
• Perform your own home water check-up. Learn more at the IRWD Online Training Center.

Evenings are about to become lighter beginning Sunday, March 13, as we set our clocks forward one hour in observance of daylight saving time.

Remember to make this adjustment to your clocks before you go to bed Saturday night.

The semi-annual time changes coincide with seasonal changes in weather, when irrigation controllers and sprinkler times should change. Water use lowers as the weather cools, and increases as weather warms, so it’s a good idea to check your controller at the same time you change your clocks.

To ensure that your service is not interrupted, change the batteries in your controllers, as well. Most controllers use a 9-volt battery to maintain the programmed schedule in the case of power outage. When the controller battery dies, the schedule automatically resets to the factory default of watering 10 minutes a day, seven days a week.

And while you are changing out your irrigation controller battery, it’s also a good time to change out the batteries in your home smoke detectors.

Four students who participated in the Irvine Unified School District’s science fair on February 23 were selected for honors by Irvine Ranch Water District for their water-related science fair projects.

IRWD has been involved in the science fair since its inception more than 30 years ago. District professionals have assisted, whether it’s advising during Ask-a-Scientist Night, or judging the water-related science fair projects.

Of the several hundred entries, more than 30 were water-related. The drought must have been on the minds of many of the students, based on the nature of their projects. Some examined various methods of desalination, some looked at irrigation controllers and others conducted experiments on the best types of dirt for retaining water.

The students will be honored at the June 13 IRWD Board of Directors meeting. Judging this year were Melinda Bergen, a supervisor in the chemistry section of the IRWD Water Quality Laboratory, and Michele Drzymkowski, IRWD Water Quality Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control.

Students whose projects were selected are:

• Harrison Ku, grade 11, University High School, “Seawater Desalination Using a Microfluidic Electrodialytic Cell Based on Laminary Flow
• Ainesh Arumugan, grade 9, University High School, “Smart Irrigation Controller”
• Ryan Takiguchi, grade 7, South Lake Middle School, “Life Sustaining Dirt: Which Soil Base Sustains Life the Longest Without Water?”
• Emily Nguyen, grade 6, Stonegate Elementary, “You Can Help Solve the Drought Problem”

For more information on the IRWD educational programs, please visit our website.

While El Nino storms were widely predicted for this season, many of you might be shaking your heads and asking – so where is El Nino?

Well, the season is far from over and there has been some rain recently. This is your opportunity to give your sprinklers a break and take advantage of what Mother Nature has to offer – and at no cost to you!

Additionally, the time is right to purchase a rain barrel so you can capture some of that rain for use during dry times. IRWD offers a $75 rebate toward the purchase of a rain barrel. Check out our website for information on rain barrel – and other – rebates.

You can also check out both of IRWD’s turf removal programs, which will help you to achieve a beautiful, drought-friendly landscape. The Do-It-Yourself and Turnkey programs offer funding to IRWD customers to turn their new landscaping dreams into reality. Visit our website for details.