More than 7,000 third through fifth grade students from all over Orange County converged on Aldrich Park at UC Irvine for the two days of the annual Children’s Water Education Festival. Around 400 of them were able to “Get the Groundwater Picture” at the Irvine Ranch Water District’s activity.

Students learned about the local groundwater basin, the aquifers, what they can do to prevent water pollution and conserve water during the drought and every day.

A total of 612 students from the IRWD service area attended the two-day event held March
23-24. This was the fourth year the event was held at Aldrich Park and the weather cooperated.

The event had been held at the Nixon Library and Birthplace for four years previously and before that, at the Hidden Valley Event Center in Irvine behind the former Wild Rivers location. IRWD has participated in the event all 20 years of its existence.

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

Stop by the lobby of the Irvine Ranch Water District’s Sand Canyon office the week of April 5-12 to view the winning Water Awareness posters of students from all over Southern California.

The display features the winners of the 2015 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s poster contest and includes the art work of Jana Ibrahim, who was a first grader at Westpark Elementary School at the time of the contest.

Jana’s art work and the other 35 winning posters will be displayed in the IRWD lobby and available for public viewing during regular business hours: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The students, their parents and teachers were invited to a ceremony at Metropolitan’s Los Angeles office in November. The winning art work was framed and on display in the building’s rotunda. Winning posters were published in the 2016 Water is Life calendar.

The traveling art show began in January and is making its way around various water agencies all over Southern California. The show will conclude the end of July and the framed art work returned to the participating agencies. Jana will be honored at a future IRWD board meeting and be presented with her winning art work.

IRWD has participated in the annual poster contest since its inception more than 20 years ago and has had at least one winner each year. More information about IRWD education programs is available on our website.

Seven California Water Agencies Unify Water Conservation Efforts

by Sharing Data from 3.7 Million People.

The White House Water Summit has recognized the efforts of seven California water agencies, the California Data Collaborative, to fast track and enhance water conservation efforts by teaming together to share data and knowledge. The Collaborative is joint effort of seven California public water agencies to establish and accelerate the development of smart conservation targets by collectively leveraging water use data from the 3.7 million people the agencies serve. Over the next six months the Collaborative, it will use its more than 1.8 billion records to develop a new, statewide water conservation framework customized to the unique needs of California’s diverse communities.

There is no single source in California for validated water agency data for use in conducting analytics to inform strategic demand management decisions. This became apparent during the spring of 2015, when statewide water conservation targets without the benefit of good data. Good data is extremely valuable to identify opportunities for future demand management programs, as well as help identify whether programs are effective.

“We are extremely pleased to have the White House recognize our efforts here in Southern California,” said Joone Lopez, General Manager for Mouton Nigel Water Agency, the California agency administering the joint effort. “The Collaborative is working with water agencies throughout the State along with various academic institutions including University of California, Davis, University of California, Riverside and Stanford, to bring big-data applications to the water industry, a strategy that has proven to be effective and successful in private and other large municipalities.”

With more than a thousand water providers in California, having comprehensive and consistent data has been a long-standing obstacle to meaningful and practical water policies over the years. As focus on conservation and water efficiency continues to increase, the ability to use data to evaluate current actions, identify opportunities, and develop new strategies that strike a balance between efficiency and local supply investment is critical.

“We are thankful for the recognition from the White House and proud of the great work that’s being done through the California Data Collaborative,” added Board President Don Froelich of MNWD. “The more we know, the more we can do to help our customers be efficient and mitigate rate impacts by making sound investments towards future reliability.”

The current drought is the worst in 500 years, and California faces substantial water supply uncertainty looking into the next century. Yet by collaborating smartly, we can prepare our State to adapt to future challenges.

About the California Data Collaborative

The California Data Collaborative is a coalition of municipal water utilities dedicated to sharing water usage data to enable smarter water conservation. Current participants include Agencies: East Bay Municipal Utility District; Eastern Municipal Water District; Inland Empire Utilities Agency; Irvine Ranch Water District; Las Virgenes Municipal Water District; and Santa Margarita Water District. The goal is to have agencies throughout the State work together to help each other to better serve all Californians. Download backgrounder

About the White House Water Summit:

For the first time, the White House hosted a Water Summit to recognize innovative and pioneering efforts across the nation that promote water efficiency and management.   The California Data Collaborative was selected from a national pool of applicants through an open call for innovative projects. More information is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/22/fact-sheet-working-together-build-sustainable-water-future

Media Contact:

Patrick Atwater, Project Manager

patrickatwater@gmail.com

(818) 259-2709

It’s springtime and the Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh is waking up. If you have never visited the Marsh, or if it has been a while, this is a wonderful time of year to get acquainted with this urban jewel.

The Marsh is a reconstructed wetland designed to clean urban runoff from the San Diego Creek before it reaches environmentally sensitive Upper Newport Bay. Besides enhancing water quality, the Marsh provides a home to some 230 species of birds and other wildlife, making it a park-like setting.

In addition, the marsh contains 12 miles of meandering hiking trails on approximately 320 acres and is open 365 days a year, dawn to dusk. The campus is also home to the Audubon House and the IRWD visitor’s center, both open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Marsh contains mostly native plants. When IRWD began rehabilitating the Marsh in the late 1990s, crews faced a daunting task of eradicating many unwelcome, non-native species, such as artichoke thistle and yellow-flowered black mustard plants. Landscape crews continue to monitor for any appearance of these plants and they are removed immediately.

During the spring, the marsh plants begin to bloom and regain their color after winter dormancy. Visit the Marsh for spring planting ideas, and take a walk through the butterfly garden in the Marsh’s meadow.

A recent addition to the Marsh, and also a work in progress, is the Pollinator’s Garden. This was designed to attract bees, which are responsible for pollinating about one-third of the food consumed by humans. Development of the garden began in October and includes a variety of native plants so something is in flower during each season.

More information about the San Joaquin Marsh is available on our website.