WATER WATCH : Welcome Cleansing

Water can never be taken for granted in California, even though many of us live close to it. We import water; we recycle it; we devote no small amount of politicking to its allocation. Mostly, though, we hope water will always be there when we need it.

Joan Irvine Smith, the visionary Irvine Co. heiress, has grasped the importance of progressive water management and does not take for granted the future availability of this valuable resource.

Her insights come from a long family history of farming and, of course, from the rapid sprawl of thirsty suburbs over ranchland and orange groves.

For the last year, her largess has made possible a remarkable and unique nonprofit project in Fountain Valley, the National Water Research Institute. It is dedicated to the ambitious goal of finding new ways to purify the nation’s water--whether it’s offshore, in rivers and lakes, underground or high above us in the atmosphere.

The institute already has become involved in water purification projects, wetlands creation and ocean pollution control.

It has worked with several water districts in Orange County and attracted national attention from the likes of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

To its credit, the institute has pointed the way toward joint research by government, universities and private industry.

At a time when water must be preserved, protected and cleansed, this practical approach to water-related issues--funding about $2 million in research yearly--is welcome indeed.