This Message Wasn't All Wet

More than 800 people attended a Water Awareness Day event Saturday at the Santa Margarita Water District, where adults and children were able to learn more about water use efficiency and local supply reliability through a variety of crafts, water education presentations and tours.

The event is held annually in the spring to celebrate the state’s recognition of May as “Water Awareness Month.” 

Tours of the 244-million gallon were given throughout the day to show customers SMWD’s new domestic water storage facility. Completed in October 2011, it is the largest domestic water reservoir built in south Orange County in nearly 45 years and can provide drinking water to approximately 500,000 individuals for one week in the event of a service disruption.

The Upper Chiquita Reservoir is part of the District’s ongoing commitment to increasing local supply reliability by developing domestic and recycled water storage facilities, promoting conservation, expanding water recycling and identifying new local water supplies.

In addition to learning about SMWD’s facilities and operations, customers were able to enjoy the District’s drought-tolerant display garden and plant native seeds in containers to add to their gardens. Children learned about the natural water cycle by creating water cycle bracelets and many families stopped to participate in water experiments conducted by Discovery Science Center. 

The cities of Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo, Orange County Fire Authority, The Toll Roads, Riley Wilderness Park and OC Alert also participated in the event. 

Visit smwd.com to view a photo gallery of the event, or check out the music video.