ISSUE 4 VOLUME 12, August 2016
Municipal Water District Sets National Example in Water Loss Control
By Ivan Flores                                                          
 
The Municipal Water District of Orange County and participating member agencies have embarked upon a pioneering three-year program that will evaluate and cost-effectively reduce water losses.

The inaugural year of the program is concluding, and results indicate that the 17 participating agencies incurred $12 million in water losses due to pipe leaks, metering inaccuracies, and tracking errors during the first year of the three-year study. MWDOC has entered into an agreement with Water System Optimization, Inc. to refine estimates of water loss and intervene to reduce water and financial losses.

Water losses were estimated to be 13,000 acre-feet during the first year of the study period, which is enough water to supply 32,500 families for a year. To determine the total water loss occurring for the 17 participating agencies, each agency completed a water audit that accounted for volumes of water supply, consumption and loss. Participating agencies chose whether the water audits captured calendar 2015 or fiscal year 2014-2015.

OC Continues Water-Saving Ways
By Bryce Roberto

Orange County residents continue to conserve water at astonishing rates, even after the state dropped mandatory conservation goals and allowed local agencies to determine the best methods to communicate a water-efficiency message to their customers.
 
OC residents reduced their water use by 21.6 percent in June, compared to the same month in 2013. That is about the same as OC's water conservation mark of 22 percent during the mandatory reduction period. That mandatory number was reduced to 19.5 percent countywide before state water officials eliminated the mandatories and ordered water agencies to certify they  serve their customers under a "stress test" scenario of three more years of drought.
  
Ricki the Raindrop Heeds Coastkeeper Call for Coastal Cleanup Day Volunteers
By Bryce Roberto
 
Ricki the Rambunctious Raindrop - who, due to the drought, has dropped some serious water weight recently - has decided to make the 2016 Coastal Cleanup Day the first public unveiling of his new slicker look!
 
Although Ricki has been sighted at other Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) private events, such as hosting a Girl Scout troop tour of the MWDOC headquarters, or making a splash with contest winners at the MWDOC Water Awareness Contests awards ceremony, this is his first public appearance. The cleanup is an event Ricki is looking forward to, as a volunteer, an educator, and as a proud OC resident; using gestures and fluid dance moves Ricki will demonstrate the desire to participate with MWDOC staff to spread the word about water!
 
Click here to read the full story
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Scores with LA Galaxy
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the LA Galaxy team are partnering to spread the message of Water conservation. Beginning July 1, they will work together to promote MET's new campaign H2Love or H2 outreach campaign.
                                         
Last month, MET's board of directors released a Water Supply Alert asking Southern California residents to continue their water conservation efforts. This campaign is in line with this message of saving water as a way of life.
 
Santa Margarita Partners with Water Innovation Non-Profit Imagine H2O
Santa Margarita Water District staff will join a panel that reviews innovative water projects and initiatives for a San Francisco-based nonprofit with the mission to "inspire and empower people to solve water problems."

The nonprofit, Imagine H20 (IH20), partners with industry and policy experts as well as a global network of customers and investors to guide products and programs to market. Since 2009, IH20's accelerator has worked with more than 550 companies in 20 countries. Those working with IH20 have received more than $1 for every $10 of early-stage investment made in the water sector.


Calendar of Events
Upcoming Meetings/Events

August 17:
Regular Board Meeting
 
August 18:
Executive Committee Meeting
 
September 5:
Labor Day Holiday
 
September 6:
Planning & Operations Committee Meeting
 
September 7:
Workshop Board Meeting
 
September 14:
Administration & Finance Committee Meeting

All meetings are at MWDOC, 18700 Ward Ave., Fountain Valley.  For information on MWDOC meetings and events, please click on the calendar icon above.

Kudos
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Santa Margarita Receives Engineering Award

Santa Margarita Water District has been awarded by the California Water Environment Association with the Engineering Achievement Award for the Gobernadora Multipurpose Basin.

Fountain Valley Turns to Tech to Save Water

More than a dozen water leak alerts come into the City of Fountain Valley each week through its new Sensus technology that allows the City, and customers, to see water use in real time.

It is all part of an effort to reduce water use by 20 percent in a state plagued by drought. Fountain Valley - a city so serious about water conservation that it turned off its iconic fountain -- deployed Sensus technology one year ago to help the state save billions of gallons of water.

Irvine Ranch Offers Virtual Landscaping Tool 

Irvine Ranch Water District has launched a virtual water-efficient landscaping tool to show customers how much water they could save by changing their yards.

The tool can be found at
  http://rightscapenow.com

MyWater NB

Newport Beach Water customers can now view their water usage from the convenience of their computer or mobile device.

MyWater NB mobile application allows the customer to view their up to date water use, report and view water outages, and communicate with their water utility.