Ian Swift Oversees IRWD San Joaquin Marsh and Natural Treatment Systems

Ian Swift is the new Supervising Wetlands Biologist for the Irvine Ranch Water District. After spending two years working as the watershed biologist at the Los Vaqueros Reservoir, a drinking water, recreational and educational facility owned by the Contra Costa Water District, the Los Angeles native feels like he has come home.

 “Working in the San Joaquin Marsh on a daily basis is one of the best parts about coming to work at IRWD,” said Swift. “Its serenity and beauty enhance my new work experience.”

Swift joined the District in March and he oversees maintenance of the San Joaquin Marsh and all of the Natural Treatment System (NTS) sites. The San Joaquin Marsh encompasses more than 300 acres of coastal freshwater wetlands, half of which have been restored to a natural state.

NTS is a series of manmade wetlands which use the natural ecosystems to remove sediment, nutrients, pathogens and other contaminants from urban runoff. One of the largest and most visible sites is Quail Springs in Irvine, where Sand Canyon Avenue and Shady Canyon Drive meet.

Swift gives kudos to other wetlands employees for showing him around. The first day in the marsh, he spotted the resident bobcat.

Swift comes to IRWD with impressive credentials. Prior to Contra Costa, he spent eight years as a natural areas supervisor with the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. Additionally, he has traveled all over Central and South America hiking and studying insects. In 2006, he was in French Guiana assisting renowned documentary film maker David Attenborough on a project, “Life in the Undergrowth.”

In his new position, Swift supervises two Wetlands Specialists, coordinates the District’s wetlands operation with state and federal regulatory agencies and coordinates with county vector control to ensure a minimum of vector-related problems.

He is eager to become involved as the District moves forward with the construction of another 15 NTS sites throughout the San Diego Creek watershed.

“The new challenges we face are adapting to the new regulatory environment and the new NTS facilities being designed and engineered,” Swift said.

Please visit www.irwd.com/environment for more information about the San Joaquin Marsh and NTS.

Closure to Last up to Three Months

Beginning Tuesday, August 9, 2011 the Sand Canyon entrance to Irivne Ranch Water District Sand Canyon administrative office building will be closed and will remain closed for approximately three months due to construction activities.  

Anyone visiting IRWD's administrative building located at the corner of Sand Canyon and Waterworks Way should use the Waterworks Way entrance. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.  Please check the District's web site, www.irwd.com for further updates.

About that Irvine Purple

Recycled water use in Southern California was gaining momentum in the early 1980s and Irvine Ranch Water District engineers were researching ways to differentiate between the pipes that carry recycled water and those serving drinking water.

The head of the IRWD Planning Department asked one of the engineers to come up with a color palette, thinking that using a different color pipe for recycled water would be effective. A challenge came with this request - the department head was severely color blind and only saw shades of gray.

“But he pointed to purple on the chart, because even though he only saw gray, this stood out from the rest,” said IRWD Principal Engineer Steve Malloy. “So he chose that, saying if it looked different to him, others could see it.”

IRWD worked with the American Water Works Association to set purple pipe for recycled water as an national standard. Wherever recycled water is used, purple pipe is used, which is known as “Irvine Purple.”

For more information about recycled water use, please visit our website.

Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Integral Member of the Team

One of the Irvine Ranch Water District’s greatest resources are its employees.  And the District is proud of the longevity among its workforce. Six employees will reach a 30-year milestone of employment with the District this year – one of them is Joe Breiter.

“Thirty years ago, it never occurred to me I would be here this long,” Breiter, an operator at the Michelson Water Recycling Plant, said. “I was just out of the Army and looking for full-time work.”

He didn’t know a thing about wastewater treatment, but applied for a job with IRWD after a friend advised him of an opening at the plant. He was interviewed, but the job was given to someone else. Six months later, he was about to re-enlist in the Army so he could attend language school, when he received a telephone call from the District.

“It was a life-changing call, because it was IRWD offering me the job I had interviewed for originally,” he said.

For all 30 years of his IRWD career, Breiter has worked in wastewater treatment. When he was hired in 1981, there were three shifts working at the Michelson plant. Emerging computer technology eventually rendered three shifts unnecessary, Breiter said. Stand-by plant operators could respond to problems at the plant from home with the click of a mouse.

Over the years, Breiter attended school and received all of the training and certificates.  He became active in the Santa Ana River Basin division of the California Water Environmental Association (SARBS). He worked his way up the board of directors of SARBS and served is its president in 2006.

Breiter has been on hand to see many plant upgrades to increase capacity of wastewater treatment to recycled water.  In 2006, construction was begun on a circular clarifier that would add the ability of treating up to five million gallons of wastewater per day. In 2009, a massive expansion of the plant began to increase capacity to 28 million gallons per day.

In his position as an “Operator III,” Breiter is responsible for all aspects of the treatment processes required to operate the plant efficiently. He performs daily equipment inspections and monitors conditions in the various steps of the process of converting wastewater to recycled water. In addition, he serves on the District Hazardous Materials Response Team, which responds to emergency situations including chemical spills. He takes readings from meters and gauges and makes appropriate calculations. All operators must continually stay abreast of any changing state and federal regulations and take training as needed.

Breiter is a native of Southern California who entered the Army following high school. It was while he was stationed in the Canal Zone in Panama City that he honed his skills as a photographer, a hobby he had since his school days. At IRWD, Breiter has often been called upon to photograph District events. His photos - especially the one of the iconic windmill at sunrise- have graced many IRWD publications. He found the ideal spot to use his talents – the San Joaquin Marsh.

 In the lobby of the IRWD Sand Canyon headquarters hangs a photo of six black skimmer birds gliding over a pond in the marsh. In 1998, Breiter entered that photo into the Nikon Photo Contest International. He won $300 and his photo was chosen out of 25,000 entries from all over the world to appear in Nikon’s 2000 calendar.

 Many of Breiter’s photos appear on our website.