To alleviate this dependency on expensive imported water, IRWD began to develop a series of local wells in 1979.
The Dyer Road Wellfield Project extracts low-cost, high-quality water from deep within the Orange County Groundwater Basin.
IRWD produces approximately 21 percent of its supply by treating wastewater and reusing it for irrigation and other non-potable, or non-drinking, uses.
Recycled water is also used for front and backyard irrigation in large residential lots, for industrial processes, and for toilet flushing and cooling towers in dozens of dual-plumbed office buildings.
The California Water Code Section 35539.12 grants IRWD the authority to provide urban runoff treatment services within the District.
Residents who live miles inland can contribute to ocean pollution simply by leaving their sprinklers on too long.
After this wasted water flows to the curb it carries trash, fertilizers, pet waste and other pollutants into the storm drain system which flows into San Diego Creek, eventually ending up in ecologically sensitive Upper Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
Additionally, an urban runoff treatment system, like the IRWD Natural Treatment System program, helps protect the San Diego Creek Watershed by naturally removing some of the contaminants in from urban runoff before it reaches the ocean.
Infrastructure costs, called capital projects, are financed through general obligation bonds, the debt service for these is paid through a combination of property taxes and connection fees.
Daily operation and maintenance costs, which are further separated between the water and sewer systems, are funded through monthly user service charges.
IRWD uses a long-range planning approach that eliminates the need for dramatic increases in customer rates to pay for new infrastructure (pipes, pumps, reservoirs, etc.)
The CAFR has been the annual financial report of choice for public agencies since it was established in 1945 by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).
Reports submitted to the CAFR program are reviewed by selected members of the GFOA professional staff and the GFOA Special Review Committee (SRC), which comprises individuals with expertise in public-sector financial reporting and includes financial statement preparers, independent auditors, academics, and other finance professionals.
The IRWD Operating Budget provides the financial plan required to implement the District's workplan for the year.