WATER QUALITY

Water Quality is a major concern of IRWD and to ensure the safety of our water supply IRWD has a fully operational and active Certified Laboratory, staffed with qualified biologists, physical scientists, and water engineers who monitor the water through the district on weekly and monthly schedules. IRWD publishes a Water Quality Report each spring which is mailed to all customers and published on the web site and in other public places. The District has consistently received high marks for the quality and taste of district water.

URBAN RUN OFF AND URBAN WASTE

Urban Run-off and Urban Waste has been a troubling problem since civilization began. It has only become more complicated as open spaces are covered with concrete roadways and houses built on concrete slabs. One innovative way of capturing and treating urban run off was introduced by IRWD, as the Natural Treatment System. Throughout the district area "mini-wetlands" are being created to capture the first flush of rain water, allowing the water to circulate through specially created areas, treating the flow in a natural way, absorbing the contaminates before it flows to the bay and to the ocean.
It is a great satisfaction to be part of the organization that creates, promotes and acts in this environmental way to ensure clean water for all.

WATER ISSUES

Water Supply has always been an issue in Southern California. From its earliest beginnings, the Southern part of the state has relied on innovative designs and ingenious programs to bring water to the villages, foster agriculture and refresh the livestock. The pioneers dammed up creeks and carved out gullies to transfer water to where it was needed. It is not greatly different today as those in the water industry seek to find a greater and greater water supply for the growing population and new industries.
Today the problem is greater and more complicated. Southern California´s primary source of water since the 1940´s has been the Colorado River Aqueduct, built by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MET). Due to many converging issues, including development of the Upper and Lower States of the Colorado River Basin, increasing populations in all the Western States, and climatic changes in weather patterns, the volume of water available in the river is drastically reduced. In fact, the two major holding reservoirs, Lake Meade and Lake Powell, are at their lowest levels since they were first constructed in the sixties and seventies.
California had been fortunate enough for forty years or more to be able to take the surplus water not being used by other Colorado Basin states to fill their aquifers. In 2003 the Quantification Settlement Agreement was signed by all Colorado Basin States and California agreed to reduce her allocation to the settled amount of 4.4 thousand acre feet a year.
In addition to the reduction in Colorado River Water, Metropolitan´s supply from Northern California, through the State Water Project was also reduced due to environmental problems and endangered fish issues. This fact was further complicated this spring when Judge Wanger ordered that the pumps in the Sacramento Delta be shut down to preserve the Delta Smelt and other fish species. Southern California was left on their own to find additional sources of water.
Southern California responded to the crisis in a very responsible fashion. IRWD has been using recycled water since the l960, but many other local agencies realized the value of having a local water source and took up the program. Conservation was considered an "alternate" water source and programs were put in place to teach customers the value of conservation IRWD is a leader in conservation having introduced the program to its rate payers since late 1990´s.
Added to this increasingly serious water supply problem, it has been determined that the Sacramento Delta, through which most of the northern California flows to the south, was in a severely degraded condition and in need of billions of dollars of improvements. These issues are attempting to be addressed at this very time by legislative action and new policy proposals.