Skip to Content

Latest News & Insights

Every day we learn something new and useful that we want to share with you.

By

in

Media Release, News, Publications

Posted

September 29, 2021 at 9:44 am

California’s Water Professionals Appreciation Week, October 2 to 10

Proclamation – Water Professionals Appreciation Week sm

Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District Recognizes Careers in the Water Industry During California’s Water Professionals Appreciation Week, October 2 to 10

September 29, 2021:  As part of California’s fourth annual Water Professionals Appreciation Week, the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District recognizes the wastewater workers who help ensure that California’s water supplies are cleaned and protected. As front-line workers in public health, dedicated water professionals are now more critical than ever.

Water Professionals Appreciation Week was established in 2017 by Senate Concurrent Resolution 80, by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa). Recent labor studies estimate that 60,000 people work in California’s water industry and roughly 6,000 new employees are needed each year due to turnover. The water industry offers a wide variety of rewarding career opportunities in engineering, biology, finance, business administration, law, communications and many more types of positions in high-demand occupations.

The measure was sponsored by a coalition of water associations led by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and including WateReuse California, California Municipal Utilities Association, California Association of Sanitation Agencies, and the California Water Environment Association. Under SCR 80, the annually designated week begins on the first Saturday of October and ends on the Sunday of the following weekend.

To arrange a media interview with one of Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District’s water professionals or for visuals of District facilities or operations, please visit the District website: https://www.fairfieldsuisunsewer.ca.gov.

Talyon Sortor – Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District General Manager

0 Continue Reading →

By

in

Publications

Posted

September 11, 2018 at 8:41 pm

CWEA E-Bulletin August 2018

CWEA_JD

Meet Emerging Leader 2018, Jordan Damerel, Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District

Projects at the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District are hallmarked by transparency, open communications, and disappearance of the traditional silos that often plague the clean water profession.

That’s in great part due to the efforts of Jordan Damerel, Director of Engineering.

“Jordan manages the District’s Capital Improvement and Asset Management programs, and he’s constantly working towards more transparent planning processes which allow greater buy-in from O&M and engineering staff,” says Meg Herston, Environmental Compliance Engineer, who nominated him for an Emerging Leader award.

“For nearly three years, Jordan spent every Wednesday working as an operator to gain experience and break down communication silos. Jordan’s knowledge, combined with his humility and willingness to seek feedback, has made him incredibly influential.”

The number of noteworthy projects is many, and includes the Nereda nutrient removal pilot and the District’s public-private partnership with Lystek, a regional biosolids processing and re-use facility.

Damerel also prepared the analysis justifying energy efficiency savings that allowed the District to be awarded $4 million in principal forgiveness from the EPA’s Green Project Reserve, reducing the District’s State Revolving Fund loan for its Blower Replacement Project from $11 million to $7 million.

Damerel has been with the District for three years, with six years as a consultant prior to that. He heads a six-person engineering department.

He also teaches math and wastewater courses through Solano Community College and the Bay Area Consortium for Water and Wastewater Education (BACWWE), providing free classes and networking opportunities to students interested in the water industry, and through which many of the District’s staff and interns have been educated.

“I enjoy that,” he says.  “It’s really fun to see students get excited about wastewater.”

His job excites him as well. “More than a specific project, my favorite work is what we do to bridge gaps between operations, maintenance, finance, and engineering—collaborating on running the plant better, improving efficiency, saving money and power, generating more renewables.

“The key to success is to break down the silos between departments and make things happen. We do that well here and it’s a fun place to work.”

By Jim Force, August 14, 2018

1 Continue Reading →

Accessibility Toolbar