Published: Jun 28, 2013 | 21:09 PM

May is Water Awareness Month – How Aware are You?

Your Source for Water Knowledge

Irvine Ranch Water District customers, we know it’s easy to take water for granted – you turn on the tap and the water flows. But how does it get to the tap? More than 50 percent ofthe IRWD water supply comes from local groundwater wells.

“These wells range in depth from 400 to 2,000 feet and extract high quality water from the Orange County groundwater basin,” said IRWD General Manager Paul Jones. “This basin is a resource shared by all of the cities and water districts in northern and central Orange County.”

Approximately 30 percent of the IRWD drinking water is imported from the Colorado River and Northern California. IRWD buys this water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. While Southern California had an above average rainy season this year, our imported water supplies continue to face a variety of challenges, most notably the environmental crisis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Today, Southern Californians need to continue practicing conservation, in both dry and wet years. Please visit our website to find tips and tools on how to be Always Water Smart.

Meanwhile, here are some other online resources for everything water:

• California Urban Water Conservation Council: www.h2ouse.org
• California Department of Water Resources: www.water.ca.gov
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: www.bewaterwise.com
• Orange County Water District: www.ocwd.com