Thinking of removing your water-thirsty grass and replacing it with water-friendly plants? Look no further than the IRWD Turnkey Turf Removal Program, which simplifies the process.

Residential customers can relax and leave it to IRWD’s drought-tolerant landscape expert, WaterWise Consulting, Inc. (WWC), which manages the project from start to finish.

The first step toward a water-wise yard is a meeting with WWC’s landscape design consultant to discuss vision and goals for the project. Once the design is finalized, a project team will remove existing grass, install new drought-friendly plants and convert the irrigation system to drip irrigation.

Eligible residential customers can receive a rebate up to $2,000 per site for turf removed. Sites must have a minimum of 500 square feet of grass removed to qualify for the Turnkey Turf program. If your site has less than this, check out the Do-It-Yourself program at rightscapenow.com/turf-removal/diy-turf-removal.

Program participants are responsible for obtaining any required design approvals from their homeowners association. Program details on available on our website.

Spring Break has ended, now it’s time to begin planning for summer camp. The Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh provides the ideal setting for fun and learning. Opportunities abound for youngsters age seven to 12.

Sea and Sage Audubon Society will once again host its popular nature camps as it has done for more than 20 years and Discovery Science Center returns with Summer Smiles and Project Discovery camps.

All of these camps fill up quickly, so sign up now!

Sea and Sage’s Fledgling Camp is for 7-8-year-olds and scheduled for June 26-30, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Campers will enjoy bird walks, journaling, songs, art projects and games.

Marsh Bird Camp is geared toward those nine-12 years old and is scheduled June 19-23, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Participants will explore all aspects of marsh bird life, take daily nature walks and have a visit from the Birds of Prey Center.

Coastal Camp is for ages 11 and up and requires Marsh Camp experience. Camp is scheduled July 10-14, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The camp covers all aspects of coastal shorebirds and their habitats, with two off-site days on Tuesday and Thursday at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and Crystal Cove State Beach. The week includes bird walks, journaling, crafts and other related activities.

Advanced Bird Camp is for campers 11 years and older and requires Marsh Camp experience. Camp takes place July 24-28, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Campers learn about birds of Southeast Arizona. They will also paint a wood bird model seen in that area. Other activities include nature walks, keeping a daily nature journal, sketching and more.

Visit the Sea and Sage website for information.

Discovery camps begin with Project Discovery the week of July 3. Other weeks include July 10-14, July 24-28, August 7-11, and August 14-18. Duration of camp is 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Campers will investigate chemical reactions, design, construct, test, and compete with a series of hand-made devices like roller coasters and catapults. Project Discovery is for children seven-10 years old.

Summer Smiles is for the five-seven-year-old set, with dates of July 17-21 and July 31-August 4, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. During this camp, youngsters will investigate the world of marshland plants and animals, while also focusing on a series of children’s storybooks. Hands-on activities include concocting gooey slime, creating a cloud in a bottle, and designing a bug.

Visit Discovery Science Center’s website for more information.

Over two days in March, more than 7,500 third through fifth grade students, accompanied by 700 teachers and chaperones, converged on Aldrich Park at UC Irvine to learn about all aspects of water in a fun and exciting atmosphere. The annual Children’s Water Education Festival is the culmination many months of bringing together water agencies, cities and schools from all over Orange County.

The Festival is hosted by the Orange County Water District to educate students about local water issues and helps them understand how they can protect water supplies and the environment.

Students learned about the local groundwater basin, the aquifers, what they can do to prevent water pollution and conserve water, even after drought conditions have been eased.

A total of 881 students from the IRWD service area attended the two-day event held March 29-30. This was the fifth year the event was held at Aldrich Park and organizers agree this venue provides a back-to-nature feeling. This is also an opportunity for the students to visit a university campus.

IRWD has participated in the event since its inception 21 years ago. More than 400 students were able to “Get the Groundwater Picture” at the IRWD activity.

The festival has hosted more than 115,000 students countywide over its 21 years of existence.

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

UCI to dramatically increase its use of recycled water

Campus partners with Irvine Ranch Water District to convert central cooling plant

Aiming to greatly expand its use of recycled water, the University of California, Irvine is partnering with the Irvine Ranch Water District to convert the school’s central cooling plant to an environmentally friendly system that will conserve more than 50 million gallons of drinkable water per year.

The central cooling plant is the hub of the air conditioning systems for 65 buildings at UCI. Recycled water will replace the potable water used in its 4.5 million-gallon evaporative cooling tower, which utilizes a process that drops water through the air to lower its temperature to 39 degrees Fahrenheit. This chilled water is pumped throughout campus in a closed-loop circulation system to cool various structures, thereby reducing the amount of electricity that would otherwise be needed for air conditioning.

“Recycled water is a key component of the IRWD’s water portfolio. It helps ensure water supply reliability and promotes water resource sustainability,” said Douglas Reinhart, president of the IRWD board of directors. “We are pleased to partner with UCI on this groundbreaking project.”

Wendell Brase, associate chancellor for sustainability at UCI, said: “We’re always looking for ways to strengthen the university’s longstanding commitment to environmental stewardship. This opportunity is a huge step toward our campus goal of reducing the amount of potable water used on campus, and we are pleased to have such a forward-looking partner in the IRWD.”

Once the project is completed, UCI will have slashed its per capita water consumption by 42 percent since 2007. This puts it well ahead of the University of California’s policy goal of cutting water usage by 36 percent by 2025.

Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin this summer and wrap up in early 2018, said Richard Demerjian, chair of UCI’s Water Resources Working Group and assistant vice chancellor for environmental planning and sustainability. When finished, the conversion will save enough drinking water to supply 300 households a year.

The water district and university are both longtime conservation pioneers. The IRWD is known for its innovative programs to reduce water use. UCI is at the forefront of environmental research and is the only campus in the nation to make Sierra magazine’s annual list of the top 10 “Cool Schools” seven years in a row.

The cooling tower conversion is the latest in a series of collaborations between UCI and the IRWD that began with the new campus opting in 1965 to use recycled water for landscaping. UCI currently employs recycled water for nearly all landscape irrigation and has implemented a number of measures – including plumbing fixture retrofits – to save drinking water in student housing, classroom buildings and laboratories.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.

About the Irvine Ranch Water District: The IRWD is the largest water district in Orange County, California. Established in 1961, it provides high-quality drinking water, reliable sewage collection and treatment, groundbreaking recycled water programs and environmentally sound urban runoff treatment for more than 390,000 residents. As an independent, not-for-profit public agency, the IRWD is governed by a five-member, publicly elected board of directors. To learn more, visit http://www.irwd.com.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.

Contact: Tom Vasich, UCI, 949-824-6455, tmvasich@uci.edu

Contact: Beth Beeman, IRWD, 949-453-5500, info@irwd.com

Article PDF