Congratulations to Fix-a-Leak Winners
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.
RightScape Workshops - in Time for May Flowers!
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.
Time to Think About Summer Camp
Summer is just around the corner, so it’s never too early to start planning. Irvine Ranch Water District’s San Joaquin Marsh provides the ideal setting for fun and learning.
Several different day camps are offered for all ages. Sea and Sage Audubon Society will once again host its popular nature camps and Discovery Science Center is back to offer their Summer Smiles and Project Discovery camps. All of these camps fill up quickly.
For more than 20 years, Sea and Sage has offered its programs to youngsters aged 7 through 12. The first offering is Fledgling Camp for seven and eight-year-old campers. Camp is the week of June 22-26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Beginning birders will sharpen observational skills on daily nature walks and learn to keep a birding journal. They will also have fun playing games, learning nature songs and doing crafts.
Marsh Camp is geared toward the nine-12 year-olds. There are two camp sessions – June 22-26 and July 6-10, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Campers will explore all aspects of marsh bird life. They will also enjoy daily nature walks, see live hawks and owls from a rehabilitator, paint a birdbath, keep a nature journal, do crafts and much more.
Advanced Bird Camp is for campers 11 years and older and requires Marsh Camp experience. Camps takes place July 20-24. Camp will focus on pelagic birding and ocean habitat. There will be field trip to the Dana Point Ocean Institute for a morning of pelagic birding on Friday, July 24. Camp includes a daily nature walk, keeping a daily nature journal, sketching and other art projects. Campers will paint a hand-carved wooden bird.
Visit the Sea and Sage website for more information.
Discovery camps begin with Project Discovery the week of June 29-July 3. Other weeks for Project Discovery are July 6-10, July 20-24, July 27-31 and August 3-7. Duration of camp is 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Campers will enjoy a series of challenge-based activities, such as testing different models of flight, dropping an egg without breaking it and constructing a catapult. They will also investigate the secrets of the solar system and take a close look at Earth, starting with one drop of water. Project Discovery is for seven-10-year-olds.
The five-six-year-old set will enjoy Summer Smiles camp weeks of July 13-17 and August 10-14, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Campers will investigate the world of the plants and animals populating the water, land and sky surrounding the marsh. They will concoct gooey slime, make animal-themed crafts and discover the similarities and difference of the plants, fish, mammals and insects all around us. They will also learn about the marsh’s ponds during nature hikes.
Visit Discovery Science Center’s website for more information.
IRWD Statement on the San Juan Capistrano Court Case
The Fourth District Court of Appeals recently issued a decision in the case “Capistrano Taxpayers Assn v. City of San Juan Capistrano.” The case involved a challenge to a rate structure adopted by the City of San Juan Capistrano.
While this court case has attracted much attention, the court ruling did not invalidate tiered rate structures. The court simply affirmed that to be in compliance with Proposition 218 each price tier must be based on the water district's cost of service. The IRWD budget based conservation rate structure complies with these requirements.
In addition, while the case is fact-specific to San Juan Capistrano, the clarity provided by the court will be helpful to water agencies in ensuring that their rate structures conform with the requirements of Proposition 218. As we continue to review the decision, we will evaluate any potential impacts to IRWD.
The timing of this decision coincides with California experiencing record drought conditions. The Irvine Ranch Water District understands the importance of preserving California’s water supplies, especially in times of drought, and has taken many steps to encourage water use efficiency. The IRWD budget based rate structure promotes water efficiency and is based on the cost of service; is equitable and fair; promotes sustainable behavior change; has shown to be effective in reducing water use; and is supported by Governor Brown in his Executive Order on Water Restrictions issued on April 1, 2015 that calls on water agencies throughout California to implement structures that promote conservation. IRWD’s budget based rate structure has been recognized by the State Water Resources Control Board for producing superior water savings and is an approved alternative approach for compliance with current California Drought Emergency Conservation Regulations.
Brown is the New Green: What Can You Do To Save Water?
IRWD is asking customers to help us meet the statewide drinking water reduction mandate issued last month by the State Water Resources Control Board. In order to meet this mandate, IRWD has determined that our customers need to cut their outdoor watering in half.
To assist customers in helping us meet this challenge and because of the ongoing drought conditions, we will be reducing the monthly outdoor water budget. This water budget is the amount of water a customer receives each month to irrigate their garden.
Effective July 1, 2015, the outdoor monthly water budget will be based on drought tolerant landscape irrigated with a water efficient system such as drip. It will no longer be based on warm season turf.
Customers who maintain their current watering schedule and have a lawn, will likely be over their budget in July and their water bill will go up.
Customers can help us reduce the use of drinking water and keep their bills low by:
- cutting outside watering in half
- letting your water-thirsty lawn go brown
- getting ready to install drought tolerant landscaping in October
- and fixing water leaks which are often a hidden cause of water waste.
To learn more please visit the new IRWD Drought Portal for information on the statewide drought, current statewide water use restrictions and how to save water and money.
Will IRWD be issuing fines? At this time, IRWD will utilize an alternative method to discourage water wasters. Customers that exceed their monthly water budget will pay significantly more for their water use. The price increases will be assessed through the budget based rate structure.
Will IRWD Limit Outdoor Watering to 2 Days Per Week? No. IRWD will use the budget based rate structure to limit outdoor watering. Rather than specifying which days a customer can water their yard, IRWD will assign each customer a monthly water budget tied to the cost of service. This approach complies with the state emergency drought regulations and promotes long term behavior changes by sending a strong price signal that something is wrong, maybe a water leak or broken sprinkler timer. Customers are able to fix these problems and understand how they cause water over use.
IRWD Statement on Governor's Mandate:IRWD applauds the action by the Governor to call for water agencies throughout the state to implement new pricing modules that discourage excessive water use because they will not only continue to reduce water use and demand during the current shortage, but will also result in sustained conservation gains. A key component of the District's efforts to reduce water use has been through the use of budget based rate structures which discourage overuse by using a meaningful tiered pricing structure for any inefficient water use.
The District has used a budget based, tiered rate structure for nearly twenty-five years, and has continued to refine its rate and budget structure to promote wise use of water. Implementation of IRWD’s budget based tiered rate structure, in addition to other measures undertaken by the District, has provided superior savings compared with imposing a mandatory ban on outdoor irrigation.
A technical fact sheet on the IRWD Budget Based rate structure is available here.
