Tree Swallows like to build their nests in the cavities of trees, but if there are no trees, where are the swallows to go? This was a problem looking for a solution at the Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh in the late 1990s.

“There wasn’t a lot of vegetation at the Marsh to support nesting tree swallows,” said Christine Tisher, volunteer with Sea and Sage Audubon Society and program manager for the nesting box program. “So we started off with about 30 boxes in 1998.”

Tisher, a wildlife biologist by profession, was taking a class on birdcalls from Audubon at the Marsh, when she learned that the new nesting program needed a manager. She raised her hand and has overseen the program ever since.

The little nesting boxes mounted on metal poles are easy to see along the trails through the Marsh. The numbers of the boxes grew over the years to more than 100. A dedicated group of monitors formed under Tisher and they began a regular program to monitor the boxes in 2000.

Tisher has kept copious notes on the nesting box activity over the years. From the years 2000-2012, 3,743 swallows have fledged, 6,734 eggs were laid and 3,779 birds were banded for tracking their movements. Each nest has an average of four to six eggs and four to five actually hatch and survive.

Volunteers monitor the boxes on a weekly basis during the breeding season March through July. They count the number of nests, eggs, chicks and the number of chicks that fledge, or leave the nest. They also ensure that the boxes are in workable condition, trim vegetation from around the boxes, protect the birds from ants, mites and other predators, and record banding information.

One young volunteer learned about the program on the internet and thought it would be a great volunteering opportunity. Joanna Paik, 15, will be a sophomore at Beckman High School in Tustin. She moved to the area last year from Chicago.

“I thought this would be great to help the environment,” she said. “I will do this again next summer.”

Prior to this year’s nesting season, all of the boxes were removed for rehabilitation. The original boxes were all painted light blue. The rehabilitated boxes were repainted red, tan, mustard and blue.

“The style of these boxes is the same that’s used by the western bluebird,” Tisher explained.

There is a protocol for monitoring the boxes. Each box is numbered and volunteers are equipped with clipboards and lists with the numbers of the boxes. If the support pole has a red ribbon tied on it, that means there are older chicks inside ready to fledge. Those boxes are not disturbed.

Swallows aren’t the only species that have called the nesting boxes home. In 2003, one pair of bluebirds successfully nested and fledged three young during the first nesting periods. Two pairs of house wrens and one pair of western bluebirds occupied three boxes during the first nesting period in 2008. One box supported a pair of house wrens during the first nesting period and tree swallows followed in the same box during the second nesting period in 2009.

While it is exciting for the volunteers to see other species using the boxes, it’s the tree swallows that matter most, Tisher said.

“In the 1990s, there were none to be found in Orange County,” she said. “There were some unverified reports from the UC Irvine portion of the Marsh. This program has been successful in getting the tree swallows back to Orange County.”

Not many of us think about how the water gets to our faucets. You turn on the tap and the water comes out, right? But how does that happen?

“For many of our customers, water is delivered by pump stations that bring water to their neighborhoods,” said Tom Roberts, Operations Manager, for Irvine Ranch Water District.

Pumps not only provide the needed pressure for areas in higher elevations, they also deliver water to the storage reservoirs that serves the neighborhoods for regular and emergency use.

Pumps may be operated by either electric or gas-powered motors. If a home is at a higher elevation, chances are the water coming from your faucets went through two or more pump stations.

Water is a heavy commodity – each gallon weighs just a little more than eight pounds. In order to provide the correct pressure, it is typically lifted 100 feet above the home. Every day, the average American pours, flushes or sprinkles 40-130 gallons of water per day, so imagine the energy needed to carry that water up a 100-foot ladder.

Pumps are selected to perform this lifting in the most efficient manner. IRWD’s pumps need to have adequate horsepower so that they don’t run continuously. They can then be turned off when electricity costs more, typically in the afternoon on hot days.

Pump stations may have two or more units to meet daily demands and there is usually a backup unit. In the foothill areas prone to wildfires, generators have been added to the pump stations to ensure the necessary fire flow in the event of a power outage.

IRWD has 57 pump stations throughout its 181-square-mile service area. Special instrumentation and telemetry monitors the pumps around the clock, providing valuable information to the operators. Pumps have protective devices that shut them down to prevent internal damage and water loss if there is a blockage or break in a water main.

Operators are notified through the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system, which gives them an alarm on their computers. Often, adjustments can be made.

Irvine Ranch Water District hosted 27 engineers visiting from China and Taiwan on a tour of the Potable Treatment Plant on August 9.

 The engineers participated in a weeklong symposium in Los Angeles, which included conferences on the environment and workshops. The Southern California Chinese American Environmental Protection Association organized the symposium. This is the second year IRWD hosted a tour for the group.

 The engineers were especially interested in the use of membrane technology to clean groundwater. IRWD has three treatment plants using membranes to clean groundwater for drinking water.

 IRWD Engineer Carl Spangenberg made a presentation on the types of membranes IRWD uses and discussed the three treatment plants. A walking tour of the Potable Treatment Plant adjacent to the IRWD administrative office on Waterworks Way was given. This plant went online in 2007 and cleans water from five wells that contain salts from many years of agricultural use.

 Other tours during the group’s weeklong stay included the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant in Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach and the Orange County Water District Groundwater Replenishment System.

Vehicular access to the San Joaquin Marsh from the Campus Drive entry to Riparian View will be unavailable Monday through Thursday afternoon because of construction activity in the area.

Access to the Marsh from Campus Drive will resume Thursday. Hikers are encouraged to use the Michelson Drive entry to Riparian View, park their vehicles in the small lot, and use the trails at Gate 13.

“This is a good opportunity for visitors to re-acquaint themselves with Tree Hill, IRWD’s Urban Forest,” said Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager.

More information about our construction projects may be found on our website.