IRWD’s Purple Pipe Origin Story
The Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) recently posted an article about the origin of the purple pipe. In the article they share about the Irvine Ranch Water District engineers who did the work in the 1980s to establish purple as the designated standard for recycled water. “Throughout the nation and around the world, purple pipes pulse with water that has gone down drains and been treated for reuse in landscaping, agriculture and commerce. Irvine Ranch Water District was the mastermind behind that color: leading the charge in the early 1980s to certify a standard for pipes carrying recycled water, to distinguish them from drinking water systems.

But how did it happen? It’s a colorful story of IRWD leadership, creativity and humor — centered around an engineer who sees much of the world in neutral tones. “Way back in the ’60s, when IRWD first started putting out recycled water to new communities, people used metal wire or tape to mark a recycled water pipeline,” explains Ron Young, a former general manager of IRWD, who in the 1980s kicked off the effort to establish a universal color standard after attending a recycled water conference in Florida.”…. Read the full article here.

 

VSD Partners with Community Colleges
As part of its succession planning initiative, Valley Sanitary District (VSD) identified the need for certified and trained professionals in the water and wastewater industry in the Coachella Valley to replace employees that have attained retirement age or will within the next five years. There are over 260 certificated water and wastewater-related jobs in the Coachella Valley and competition for trained, certified applicants is intense and convincing potential employees to move to the desert was challenging. VSD also identified that there are no training programs, internships, or certification programs in the Desert to increase the number of “’home grown” applicants. To remedy this problem, Beverli Marshall, VSD’s General Manager, approached the College of the Desert to gauge interest in developing an apprenticeship program. The result is the creation of the Desert Region Water Technology Training Program. Learn more about the program, in the full press release.