LAWD Update

In September 2000 the Orange County Local Area Formation Commission approved the consolidation between IRWD and the Los Alisos Water District. The two districts were reorganized as IRWD when the consolidation became effective on January 1, 2001.

Areas in South Orange County, including the IRWD Los Alisos rate area, rely predominantly on imported water to the region to meet water demand. As much as 94 percent of the potable water supplied in the region is imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Only about five percent of the potable water for the Los Alisos rate area comes from local water wells.

The current Allocation-Based Conservation rate structure for the IRWD Los Alisos rate area is similar to the IRWD rate structure, but takes into account that this part of the service area does not have a local groundwater basin and no source of local water. Los Alisos is almost wholly dependent upon more expensive imported water from MWD. 

While the Los Alisos rate area has transitioned to a rate structure that encourages efficient water use, it will not have the same water commodity charge as customers in the IRWD Irvine rate area until a sale of the property surrounding the former Los Alisos Water District headquarters in Lake Forest is completed. The development agreement for the property was finalized in July 2008 and IRWD continues to work with the City of Lake Forest and project consultants to further entitle the property. The revenue realized from the eventual sale will help equalize the higher cost of imported water and allow the Los Alisos Service Area to have rate parity with IRWD.