What to do if you spot a leak in your neighborhood
Have you ever noticed a broken sprinkler or leak while out walking or driving in your neighborhood? With Log-a-Leak, you can help us help your neighbors save water.
IRWD’s new online tool makes it easy for people to help identify problems. Log-a-Leak pinpoints the location using GPS from your phone. Once you hit send, IRWD will contact the responsible person to get the problem fixed.
With more eyes out in the community, we can help more customers – including HOAs and businesses, where management might not be aware water is being wasted.
Just go to IRWD.com/logaleak and pin the location. We’ll take care of the rest.
Note: If there is a leak on your own property, no need to fill out this form. Once your leak has been repaired, see if you quality for a leak adjustment on your water bill by calling 949-453-5300 or email CustomerService@IRWD.com.
If this is a leak on IRWD equipment, or an urgent matter, please call us at 949-453-5300 so we can respond immediately.
Your IRWD drinking water is safe from PFAS
The drinking water Irvine Ranch Water District provides to its customers is safe — meeting all quality standards set by the state and federal government. That means none of the water Irvine Ranch Water District delivers to homes, businesses and schools contains any detectable PFAS.
PFAS is a group of synthetic compounds that have been used since the 1940s in hundreds of products, including nonstick cookware, food packaging, firefighting foam, and water- and stain-resistant fabrics. Growing awareness about these nondegradable “forever chemicals,” perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), has prompted new and ongoing studies, findings, and news reports about public exposure.
In 2018 and 2020, when PFAS was discovered in some Orange County drinking water wells, several water districts, including Irvine Ranch Water District, either shut those wells down, or added effective treatment that reduces the PFAS to nondetectable levels before the water is distributed to customers.
“As a water agency, we understand people’s concerns about chemicals in our environment and their potential to contaminate water,” said General Manager Paul Cook. “That’s why IRWD regularly tests for PFAS and, when needed, installs the necessary infrastructure to remove PFAS from the water. This way, we can continue to assure our customers that the drinking water that we provide to them is safe.”
For more information, visit IRWD.com/pfas.
IRWD lauded for dam safety
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials has honored Irvine Ranch Water District with its 2023 Dam Safety Award for the western region. ASDSO’s Dam Safety Award is given to organizations that make exemplary contributions to the improvement of dam safety in the United States.
For more than 60 years, IRWD has safely owned, operated, and maintained reservoirs and dams that store water for the benefit of the community.
Putting safety at the forefront of its mission, culture and purpose, IRWD is always seeking out new technologies and approaches to measure, monitor and ensure the safety of its dams. That includes these recent improvements:
- A Risk Informed Decision-Making method of evaluation, known as RIDM, that identifies risks, and prioritizes efforts to minimize them.
- Satellite monitoring that provides millimeter-scale precision in examining and tracking thousands of dam points for consistent, frequent and reliable monitoring.
- An Automatic Data Acquisition System to digitally read, store and transmit measurements for monitoring dams in real time.
IRWD owns and operates five reservoirs in and around its service area: San Joaquin, Sand Canyon, Syphon, Rattlesnake and Santiago Creek, as well as a small, non-jurisdictional dam in Harding Canyon.
For more information on IRWD’s Dam Safety Program, visit IRWD.com/dam-safety, where you can view this video.
Pictured: San Joaquin is one of five reservoirs owned and operated by IRWD.
Board to vote on connection fees and property taxes for fiscal 2023-24 and 2024-25
At its meeting on July 24, Irvine Ranch Water District’s Board of Directors will consider and vote on a proposal to set connection fees and property tax rates for fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
The proposed changes are based on estimated capital construction cost increases for all improvement districts in the IRWD service area. The costs of new capital facilities are shared equally between connection fees paid by developers and property taxes paid by property owners.
For details, please see the board report, the Proposed Connection Fees and Property Tax Rates, the Analysis of Changes, and the Key Rate Setting Factors.
The Board of Directors will meet in person at 5 p.m., Monday, July 24, at Irvine Ranch Water District’s headquarters at 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine.
The meeting will also be broadcasted via Webex for people wanting to observe virtually. Details on how to view the Webex broadcast will be published on the meeting agenda on IRWD’s board calendar.
Honoring sustainable partnerships in the community
Join IRWD in congratulating Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary School of Lake Forest for winning a 2023 National Green Ribbon Award! This significant achievement was guided by the hard work of students, teachers, administrators and volunteers.
It included research and collaboration with several local partners, including IRWD and Shadetree Partnership — which assisted with landscaping, and provided irrigation and gardening tips that helped secure the award.
State representatives from the California Department of Education, including Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, presented the award May 25 and toured the school’s all-native Heritage garden, composting facilities, sustainable vegetable garden and new landscaping featuring California live oak and fruitless olive trees donated by the Shadetree nonprofit, along with other plants.
IRWD Senior Water Efficiency Specialist Juan Garcia and Landscape Contracts Administrator Victor Zamora provided guidance to the school on irrigation, plants and other sustainable practices.
