Six Irvine Unified School District students were honored at the June 8 Board meeting for their water-related science fair projects.

The students were presented with certificates and each of their schools will receive $100 on their behalf for science programs, with an additional $100 going to support the district science fair.

IRWD has supported the science fair since its inception. In the fall, IRWD professionals participte in Ask-a-Scientist Night, which offers the students the opportunity to get their questions answered about their prospective projects.

This year’s science fair was held at Irvine High School. IRWD Water Quality experts Mindy Bergen and Jacob Broderick judged more than 60 water-related projects based on the use of the scientifiv method, creativity, relevance, completeness of the project and evidence of problem solving.

This year’s winners:

• Pranathi Kollolli, 6^th grade – “Solar-Powered Water Desalination.” This project combined Pranashi’s interest in solar energy and how it effects everyday life and desalination as a method to provide fresh water during the drought. She wanted to find out if solar energy could be used in the process of desalination. After conferring with someone from IRWD, she decided to construct her own solar desalination plant. She hypothesized that higher temperatures will result in more desalinated water. She noticed at the end of her experiment that the amount of desalinated water differed depending on the color her collection containers were wrapped in and the shape of the containers themselves. She also noticed that the experiment didn’t yield full potential once the sun went down. The project went to the county competition, where it was recognized with a special award from the Orange County Water district and the Coastal Science Award for excellence in coastal science and engineering.
• Sofia Abolfathi – 8^th grade – “Seawater can be used to replenish inland aquifers.” Sofia wanted to find out if ocean water could be used to replenish inland aquifers in hopes of battling the drought by creating a new source of water. Sofia received assistance from IRWD Regulatory Compliance Manager Lyndy Lewis, who reviewed the feasibility of the experiment. Using equal amounts of charcoal, sand and clay, Sofia filtered 1.5 liters of saline solutions. The experiment was performed in 15 trials. Her conclusion was that inland aquifers could be replenished using sea water. Her experiment showed that charcoal-filtered water had the lowest salinity. Sofia’s project won a second place at the District level and she went onto the county competition, where she was invited to the Broadcom Masters event.
• Annie Chang and Daisy Chen – 10^th grade – “Multimethod analysis and spatial modeling of bacterials dynamics in Newport Bay.” Annie and Daisy were interested in finding out how much bacterial levels varied by location and if levels varied in response to environmental factors. Their project attemped to identify trends in coliform and enterococcus bacteria levels throughout Newport Bay and the Newport Beach Coastline. They conducted field water sampling at multiple locations last July and August and this past February. Their results generally confirmed their sources of bacterial input, with some exceptions. Their project continued to the county competition in April, where they took a first place, then on to the state competition, where they received fourth place.
• Hari Garg, 11^th grade, and Anita Garg – 9^th grade, University High School – “Pathogen detection in Southern California Water Using a particle counter.” This brother and sister team collaborated to determine the water quality of various commonly visited Southern California water sites using a device called a particle counter. They hypothesized that a marsh located near the Newport Back Bay would contain the highest number of pathogens and that the particle counter would be able to measure the number of bacteria in water at ultra-low concentrations. They took water samples from seven different locations and used the particle counter to measure bacteria. The hypothesis that the marsh would contain the highest concentration of bacteria was incorrect, it had the second highest, with golf course runoff having the highest. They were correct in their hypothesis that the particle counter could detect bacteria in ultra-low concentrations. The project went to the county competition, where it took a third place award. It then went on to the state competition.

Learn more about IRWD’s education programs on our website.

The 2015 Irvine Ranch Water District Water Quality Report is now available online. The report spells out just how safe your water is and will ensure that your water meets and exceeds all state and federal guidelines.

IRWD prepares this informative report for our customer each June. Providing the report online helps reduce costs and is the environmentally friendly way of doing business.

We are happy to provide you with a hard copy if you would like one. Just send us a message at info@irwd.com with the subject line, “Water Quality Report,” and a report will be on its way in the mail. You may also request a report by calling (949) 453-5500.

The Water Quality Report, also known as a Consumer Confidence Report, is available year-round online for your convenience. Visit www.irwd.com/services/water-quality-report to view online.

Our Water Quality staff continuously monitors the water supply, conducting more than a quarter of a million laboratory tests each year from water sampled at 99 points throughout the District.

The Water Quality Report provides information on the source of your water, testing results, and how water quality compares with regulatory standards. Additionally, the report answers commonly asked questions about water quality.

In 2015, more than 100 Irvine Ranch Water District residents searched their homes for leaks and sent in photos of themselves fixing the offending faucets or sprinklers.

It was a daunting task to narrow it down to three winners, but we did.

First place went to Tom Williams of Irvine, who won a $500 Home Depot gift card for repairing a sprinkler.

Pam Faust of Irvine also repaired a sprinkler and received a Home Depot gift card for $200.

Edwin Chiu reset his sprinkler timer and won a $100 Home Depot gift card.

We thank everyone who went out of their way to check for and repair leaks they found in their homes. This truly helps during this time of drought.

More information about IRWD water efficiency is found at www.irwd.com/save-water-money.

We’ve scheduled more of our popular Rightscape workshops! These informative workshops will help you learn about the right plants, the right equipment and the right schedule to get you on the road to saving water and having a beautiful landscape.

All workshops will be held on Wedneadays in May at the Irvine Ranch Water District headquarters office, 15600 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine. And, they are free!

• May 4, 6-8 p.m.  – Drought Friendly Plant Selection and Landscape Features: Select the right plants for the right location, edible gardening, and landscape features for water harvesting.
• May 11, 6-8 p.m. - Drip Irrigation Made Easy: Learn how to convert your existing sprinkler system into drip irrigation.
• May 18, 6-8 p.m. - Soil, Water and Plant Relationships: Learn about building up your soil, composting, plant development, and proper watering.

Sign up for one workshop or all three to receive the maximum learning benefit. Sign up at irwd.com/events. Call (949) 453-5581 if you have any questions.