Senior Management
IRWD was established in 1961 as a California Water District under the provisions of the state of California Water Code. As a special district, IRWD is able to focus on its four primary services - providing high-quality drinking water, sewage collection and treatment, production and delivery of tertiary-treated recycled water, and urban runoff treatment. As an independent, not-for-profit public agency, IRWD is governed by a five-member publicly elected Board of Directors. Board members are elected by division for four-year terms. The Board is responsible for the District's policies and decision-making. Day-to-day operations are supervised by the General Manager and implemented by staff.
IRWD General Manager |
IRWD General Manager
Paul A. Cook is the General Manager of Irvine Ranch Water District. Irvine Ranch Water District provides retail water and sewer service to nearly 600,000 daytime customers in Central Orange County. IRWD is well known as an industry leader in many aspects of water quality, supply reliability, and other innovative programs.
Mr. Cook is a registered civil engineer with over 30 years of experience with water and wastewater systems in both the public and private sectors. Prior to his appointment as General Manager, Mr. Cook served as the District’s Assistant General Manager. Before joining IRWD, he served as the Manager of Engineering for Central and West Basin Municipal Water Districts in Los Angeles County where he was responsible for a capital improvements program, which included one of the largest water recycling projects in the nation. Mr. Cook began his career in the construction industry, building both commercial and public works projects.
Mr. Cook received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Pacific in Stockton, California. He went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from California State University Long Beach and an MBA from the University of California at Irvine. In 2002, he was elected to the Board of the Orange County Water District where he served through 2005, including a term as Vice President. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for WateReuse California and the California Municipal Utilities Association. He is also the Chair of the Board of Governors for Chapman University.
Contact: 949-453-5300
Email: genmanager@IRWD.com
IRWD Senior Staff |
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Transparency Center
Our website is dedicated to our customers' right to expect transparent government and easy to access information. We want to ensure that our compensation information is easy to find and that our customers understand the value of the services we provide. Please take a few moments to review our website to learn about our operations, our services and our finances. You will find that we provide a high level of service while maintaining the lowest water and sewer rates in Orange County.
IRWD provides water, sewer, recycled water and urban runoff services to more than 403,000 residents in Central Orange County. We are governed by a five member publicly elected Board of Directors that is responsible for the District’s policies and decision making. IRWD’s General Manager is the chief executive for the District and is responsible for all aspects of day-to-day operations including a staff of 337 and a combined annual Operating and Capital Budget of approximately $175 million.
Special District Leadership Foundation: 2021 Special District Transparency Certificate of Excellence Recipient
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*Staff: The employee salary schedule and benefits package for Fiscal Year 2020/21 was approved by the IRWD Board of Directors on June 8, 2020. *General Manager: Paul Cook was appointed IRWD General Manager effective October 8, 2011. His current annual salary of $324,156 was effective on October 1, 2020. Each year the General Manager's performance and compensation contract is reviewed by the Board of Directors. *Board of Directors: Each year, the Board of Directors reviews and takes formal action to set Boardmember compensation in accordance with State of California law. On December 14, 2020, the IRWD Board of Directors approved their fees for calendar year 2021 at $300.00 per meeting, not to exceed 10 meetings per month. **FY 2019/20 & 2020/21 Operating Budget: The budget was reviewed by the IRWD Finance and Personnel Committee and by the IRWD Board at Public Workshops on March 5, March 19, April 2 and April 8, 2019. The FY 2019/20 & 2020/21 Operating Budget was approved on April 22, 2019. ***Ethics: IRWD has adopted and follows a Conflict of Interest Policy and fully complies with the specific requirements of the Political Reform Act (financial interests and decision making), Government Code Section 1909 (contracts), the Ralph M. Brown Act (open meetings), and AB 1234 (compensation, expense reimbursement and ethics training). These policy and statutory requirements ensure transparency and ethical behavior by water district officials. |
updated: Dec 2020
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