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El Modena Basin is undergoing drainage and cleaning, prompting wildlife recovery efforts

April 24, 2026

The Irvine Ranch Water District is draining and cleaning the El Modena Basin in east Orange, leading some residents to raise concerns about the effects on the wildlife living there.

The basin in Orange’s El Modena Park is one of 47 natural treatment sites the water district has throughout Orange County to treat and keep urban runoff from entering the Upper Newport Bay.

Birds stroll inside the El Modena Basin Natural Treatment System site in Orange on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. The pond was drained so damaging sediment can be removed. Four kiddie pools of water have been placed for animals that live in the basin, and for wild animals that fly in and out and might be disappointed to find the pond empty, said an IRWD spokesperson. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Maintenance of these man-made wetlands is necessary “from time to time” and fairly routine, Irvine Ranch Water District spokesperson John Fabris said, “but this particular site, what happened there was not routine.”

“This was more of an urgent response to a problem,” Fabris said of the work being down to the basin in El Modena Park. “That particular site had become bogged down with sediment that had clogged up the pumps that pumped the water out of there, and so we needed to get that work done urgently.”

Red-eared slider turtles and domestic Cayuga and Pekin ducks had come to call the 2.6-acre open-water basin home. Since it was drained, Mallard ducks and birds have been seen frequenting the kiddie pools set out by the water district.

When the basin’s draining began in late March, some in the community worried about turtles being left behind in the sludge. As of early April, more than two dozen turtles were scooped from the draining basin by the East Chapman Veterinary Center, according to a social media post. The center’s veterinarians could not be reached for comment.

Excavation work to remove sediment is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 27.

Ahead of that date, any remaining ducks — a total of seven — were removed from the basin, Fabris said, adding the water district enlisted “local animal rescue coordinators” who helped with the task and are scouting a new, permanent home for the birds, “most likely in a county farm or a school with a pond.”

The water district also oversaw the removal of 11 turtles from the pond, he said; they were relocated to the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary.

But “there may have been more and some were removed by neighbors,” Fabris said.

The basin’s red-eared slider turtles are known to bury themselves in mud at the bottom of ponds or lakes to hibernate, which has made relocation tricky. Once excavation work begins next week, “we’re gonna have a biologist out there who will scoop through sediment that comes up and inspect the ground before the vacuuming begins, and save any turtles that might be in that sediment,” Fabris said.

“And then those turtles will be taken to our operation center and then removed and found new homes either in the San Joaquin Marsh or back in the El Modena Basin once the work is done,” he said.

Maintenance work is anticipated to be completed in early May, and the basin will be left to fill naturally from rain and urban runoff.

“We expect the water to be back to its normal depth by early June,” Fabris said, “but that could vary depending on weather and runoff.”

El Modena Basin is undergoing drainage and cleaning, prompting wildlife recovery efforts Orange County Register

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El Modena Basin is undergoing drainage and cleaning, prompting wildlife recovery efforts

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