The Fun Flows at Santa Margarita Water District's Water Awareness Day

Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) welcomed nearly 1,000 people to its Water
Awareness Day event held at the district's office in Rancho Santa Margarita on Saturday, May 4, where adults and children were able to learn more about water use efficiency, water delivery and local supply reliability through a variety of crafts, presentations and tours.  The event is held annually in the spring to celebrate the state of California’s recognition of May as “Water Awareness Month.”

Tours of the 244-million gallon Upper Chiquita Reservoir were given throughout the day to show customers SMWD’s newest 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 own gardens.  Children learned about nature’s water cycle by creating water cycle bracelets and many families stopped by the District’s “Water Footprint” table to find out how much water they use each year and what they can do to decrease their water footprint.   

The City of Rancho Santa Margarita, City of Mission Viejo, Orange County Fire Museum, The Toll Roads, San Diego Gas & Electric, Ready OC, Southern California Edison and the OC Stormwater Program were just some of the local organizations who also participated in the event.  

Visit www.smwd.com to view a photo gallery of the event.