Anyone standing on the road above San Diego Creek adjacent the Irvine Ranch Water District San Joaquin Marsh would probably not immediately notice any trash. But climb down the sides to the bank of the creek and tangled among the vegetation a bounty of garbage awaits. More than 100 volunteers did just that during the 16^th Annual Inner-Coastal Watershed Cleanup Day on September 15.

“Coastal Cleanup Day focuses on cleaning up the trash on the shoreline,” explained Jim Meyers, Executive Director of Trails4All. “We thought we would work on that same day to clean trash out of the creek beds before it gets to the ocean.”

That empty coffee cup lying on the beach might have come from further upstream, Meyers contends. Indeed, there were many such cups and the usually rubbish pulled out of San Diego Creek – soda cans, plastic straws, construction debris, clothing, tennis and golf balls, food wrappers, alcoholic beverage bottles, fishing lines and lures, metal rods and aerosol cans. One group spotted a shopping cart in the middle of the creek but decided against wading in to retrieve it. Another group saw a tire, but it was in an inaccessible location. The biggest litter culprit was cigarette butts, with hundreds collected.

Most of the volunteers came from environmental classes and clubs at Northwood High School. There was also a group from Discover Home Loans in Irvine, a Girl Scout troop from Santa Ana, two students from Villa Park High School in Orange and a team from Booz, Allen and Hamilton Consultants. IRWD employees also helped clean the creek.

This was the 12^th year of participation by IRWD. Volunteers fanned out within a two-mile stretch of the creek, from the 405 Freeway bridge to Campus Drive.

For more information about IRWD environmental programs, please visit our website.

Irvine Ranch Water District and the Discovery Science Center are entering into the fifth year of a partnership to provide kindergarten through eighth grade classroom water education programs for schools in the IRWD service area. Since 2007, more than 35,000 elementary school students have participated in water education assemblies, while more than 5,000 middle school students have participated in the water quality programs.

“Beat the fall rush and schedule your educational programs now,” advises Shannon Reed, IRWD Public Affairs Manager.

For more than 30 years, IRWD has been providing water education programs in local classrooms, ensuring that students have an appreciation for the precious resource of water in arid Southern California.

Accompanying each K-6 grade program are grade-specific educational booklets featuring the IRWD mascot, Aqua Duck. These programs use individual student response keypad technology for interactive learning. Grade specific topics include the forms of water, water as a resource, ecosystems, the water cycle, water sources, water recycling, energy and resources and California’s water.

Middle school age students can take advantage of a series of career-linked, hands-on water chemistry and environmental resources lessons. Students visit the IRWD San Joaquin Marsh where they sample and test water from the Natural Treatment System ponds and learn how wastewater from their homes is recycled for reuse in the community.

Did you know that the fall is the best time for planting? Experts will be on hand to discuss planting at the Fourth Annual Residential Demonstration Landscape Open House and Vendor Fair on Saturday, September 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Irvine Ranch Water District and the University of California Cooperative Extension are co-hosting this event at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center located at 7601 Irvine Blvd., Irvine.

“Native, California friendly plants are also best planted in the fall,” said Nick Mrvos, IRWD Senior Conservation Specialist. “We will be giving demonstrations of various planting techniques and advising which plants best thrive in this area.”

Mrvos will be among several featured speakers throughout the day. He will focus on the fall watering schedule and will be conducting irrigation demonstrations while discussing new products on the market.

This open house will have something for the whole family – kids can participate in planting seeds with the Master Gardeners.

For more information about the open house, please visit UCCE Demonstration Landscape Open House - Orange County Water Quality and Water Resources.

The Irvine Ranch Water District’s water tapping team, “Turbo Tappers,” once again demonstrated their expertise during the Orange County Water Association’s annual water tapping contest last week at Irvine Lake. Water tapping teams go head-to-head with their peers in the industry, representing other water districts and city water departments.

“Our team demonstrates highly trained professionalism that our customers have come to expect,” said David Pedersen, IRWD Executive Director of Operations.

This was the fourth consecutive year IRWD has participated in the contest. The timed competition involves three team members who tap into a pressurized water pipe using specialized tools. Copper pipe is then connected to a faucet. When all connections are made, the faucet is turned on, replicating connection from a water main to a domestic meter. The fourth team member serves as coach, who not only advises, but cheers the team on.

Teams are judged not only on the time it took to tap the pipe, but adherence to contest rules, use of safety equipment and if there are any leaks present.

Please enjoy the photo gallery below and visit www.irwd.com for more water information.