Briefly in the news

Joan Irvine Smith was honored Friday evening for her “dedication and

endless efforts to improve and protect the sources of water in Orange

County,” said Ron Linsky, spokesmanfor the National Water Research

Institute.

The heiress was given a commendation by the Fountain Valley-based

water agency at a dinner held at Newport Beach’s Sutton Place Hotel.

As a child, Smith joined her grandfather, James Irvine II, on

inspection tours of the Irvine Ranch water wells, reservoirs and dams.

Smith and her mother, Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke, founded the

institute in 1991 with several government agencies. The agency oversee

water research in the county and forms partnerships with local, state and

federal governments to tap into grant money for water research.