Paul Cook: Groundwater Recharge and Water Recycling at Irvine Ranch Water District
IRWD's water banking project in Kern County.
T
he Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) has grown from serving 300 customers in 1961 to over half a million people today, providing water and sewer services to a 181-square-mile service area in Orange County, California. In addition to ambitious water recycling and environmental protection programs, IRWD has also constructed 502 acres of groundwater recharge ponds that it uses to bank low-cost water underground for use in times of dearth. In this interview, IRWD General Manager Paul Cook speaks with Irrigation Leader about the district’s top priorities and also updates us on how the district is continuing its services amid the COVID‑19 pandemic. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
6 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the IRWD’s history and current services. Paul Cook: IRWD was established in 1961 to meet the increasing water needs of the region, which at the time was mostly agricultural and ranch land. Since then, the district has grown dramatically—from 300 customers to a daytime population of more than 600,000—and built infrastructure to provide quality drinking water, sewer, and recycled water irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF IRWD.
Paul Cook: I started my career in the construction industry more than 30 years ago, after graduating from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with an undergraduate degree in civil engineering. My construction experience took me from high-rise buildings to below-ground reservoirs, and while working with the latter, I became interested in all aspects of water treatment and conveyance systems. After 5 years of working in the private sector, I became an engineer at a local water agency near my home in Orange County. While experiencing all the different aspects of
working at a full-service water district, I also completed a master of science in civil engineering at California State University, Long Beach. These experiences solidified my interest in a career based in the water industry coupled with local government service. I went on to become the manager of engineering for the Central and West Basin Water Districts in Los Angeles County, where I oversaw a 5‑year, $350 million capital-improvement program. I joined IRWD in 2004 as the assistant general manager, which proved to be a great fit. This was an agency with plenty of opportunity to grow and apply innovative and sustainable solutions to serving our rapidly growing population, and it was part of my own community. I was appointed IRWD’s general manager in 2011.
