One of the Irvine Ranch Water District’s greatest assets is its employee base and the District can surely demonstrate longevity among its workforce. Three employees will reach a 30-year milestone of employment with the District this year and 11 of them have logged more than 30 years. One of them is Lester Busald, who achieved 35 years of service in early January. Busald is an Operations Supervisor at the Michelson Water Recycling Plant.

“I was 20 when I started, so I can honestly look back and say I grew up here,” Busald said.

He began his long IRWD career as a Utility Worker at the plant. This involved doing any job asked of him - even if it meant climbing into the four small circular clarifiers and scrubbing the algae off the walls before the peak wastewater flow came in.

“In those days, the plant was at four million gallons per day,” he recalled. “Peak flow would be a little more than seven million.”

For all of his 35 years, Busald had worked in wastewater treatment. When he was hired in 1979, there were three shifts working at the Michelson plant. Emerging computer technology eventually rendered three shifts unnecessary. Stand-by plant operators now respond to problems at the plant from home with the click of a mouse.

As the new employee, Busald spent his first eight months on the graveyard shift. Prior to IRWD, Busald worked for an aerospace company in Anaheim, where he grew up. Coming to work at IRWD allowed him to get married later that year.

Over the years, Busald has moved up from the entry level position to the one he holds today – Operations Supervisor. He has been involved in every plant upgrade since that time, including development of the Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, construction of the circular clarifier, to the current expansion of the plant which will process 28 millions of wastewater per day.

As various aspects of the new plant infrastructure go online, Busand and all of the operators undergo extensive training. The plant currently processes 20 mgd. He has received training on the new headworks and the high-rate clarifier. He and his fellow operations supervisor, Dave Hayden, oversee various portions of the plant. Busald and his five operators are responsible for the new headworks, high-rate clarifier and the older section of the plant. He is looking forward to training on the new membrane bioreactor.

Construction at the plant, which began in 2009, is expected to wrap up in May. More information on MWRP and the construction progress may be found on our website.

Student artists, photographers and digital artists in the Irvine Ranch Water District service area are invited to participate in various contests that showcase their skills. Announcements have been sent to all of the local schools, inviting students in kindergarten through fifth grade to participate in the annual “Water is Life” poster contest. Students in grades six through 12 have the opportunity to enter the Water Awareness Photography and Digital Arts Contest.

IRWD has a great track record – last year, there were five poster winners in the K-5 category, one slogan winner and one in the digital category.

The deadline for kindergarten through fifth grade students to enter their art work is Thursday, March 20. Students participating through the Irvine Unified School District may send their completed posters to Brad Van Patten’s office at the District office on Barranca Parkway.

Contest rules include:

• Use 12 X 18 white paper. Newsprint and larger sizes will not be accepted.
• Students must leave a one inch white border on all four sides.
• Crayons, markers, ink, poster paint, pastels, chalk, water color or cut paper or fabric may be used. Brighter colors photograph best.
• Horizontal (landscape) format only.
• Include a brief water message (be sure to check spelling!)
• Original art work only – no copyrighted material. Be creative!
• Do not put student’s name on the front of the poster.
• Back of poster must have an entry form with student’s information and signed parental release.

Students entering the “Water is Life” poster contest could have their art work published in the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s 2015 calendar.

The deadline for sixth through 12^th grade students to enter the photography and digital arts contest is Friday, March 29. The theme is “Thirst”, with the goal of getting students thinking about the importance of our most valuable resource – water. For example, why is water vital for our way of life, or how can we help save water during a drought? Some rules include:

• All files must be submitted in JPG, PNG, or PDF format and should be no larger than 10 megabytes in size.
• Photographs and digital art work should be medium to high resolution (300 dots per inch or higher.)
• Computer-generated art work can be created using Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator, Microsoft Publisher/PowerPoint, or any other graphics program.
• Only original art work will be accepted. Submissions must not contain images created by anyone other than the student.
• Entries must be emailed to digitalarts@mwdoc.com, or post entries to the Municipal Water District of Orange County facebook page. In the email subject line, type: Digital Arts Contest.
• In the body of the email, include: student’s name; grade level; school name; teacher’s name; home phone number and email address.
• Include two-three sentences explaining how the art work/photograph was created.

Please visit our website for contest entry forms and more information.

Did you know that nearly 50 percent of sewage overflows nationwide are caused by homeowners who improperly dispose of everyday fats, oils and grease?

These overflows are not just public health issues, but can result in serious damage to our environment, especially pollution of streams, bays and the ocean.

What is FOG?

FOG refers to fats, oils, and grease, which are commonly found in such things as meat fats, lard, cooking oil, shortening, butter and margarine, food scraps, baked goods, sauces and soups and dairy products.

When FOG is poured down the drain, it solidifies and sticks to the insides of sewer pipes (both on your property and in the collections system) causing obstructions and eventual blockages.  Once these blockages are formed they can cause sewer overflows in which raw sewage enters the streets, storm drains, streams, businesses, yards, and even homes.  Such spills pose a risk to public health, adversely affect aquatic life, and are costly to clean up.

What to do with FOG

To prevent problems, here are tips for getting rid of left over cooking grease:

• Minimize the use of excess cooking oils and grease when cooking or frying.
• Never pour grease down your sink drain, toilet or garbage disposal.
• Place left over grease into containers with lids, such as jars, and place into a trash receptacle for pick up on trash day.
• Mix oils with absorbent materials, such as coffee grounds, put it in a lidded container and dispose with the trash.
• If cleaning a greasy pan, pour grease into a container and wipe excess grease from the pan with paper towels. Place the towels into the trash.
• If using a deep fat fryer, mix oils with absorbent material, such as cat litter, or soak up excess oil with newspaper and put into the trash.

Get even more sewer smart at IRWD.com/services/sewer. 

FOG education for kids

Check out this video from Discovery Cube Orange County: 

Watch: The FOG Song

IRWD FOG Program for businesses

Businesses and food establishments that discharge FOG into the IRWD sewer system must comply with the FOG Program. This is a comprehensive program mandated by the State of California. Businesses will be issued a permit that identifies the general program requirements and any special conditions that have been indentified for each facility.

Get details about the IRWD FOG Program.