Heidi Birdsell, Senior Quality Assurance Chemist, Dublin San Ramon Services District
Heidi Birdsell, Senior Quality Assurance Chemist, Dublin San Ramon Services District
The last few years have brought significant changes to the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ELAP) regulations, creating complexity and confusion for those working in water and wastewater industry laboratories. This Emerging Leader has been nominated by her co-chair of the CWEA-San Francisco Bay Section (SFBS) Laboratory committee for her leadership and innovative ideas in assisting the lab community with the training process. She is also the 2023 CWEA Laboratory Person of the Year.
“Heidi Birdsell has proven to be an incredible asset to the laboratory community,” said Blake Brown, co-chair of the CWEA-SFBS Laboratory committee. “She has worked tirelessly to network and secure subject matter experts to provide training for the laboratory community.”
Brown reported that one of her most significant accomplishments was contacting and coordinating with Ron Tryger, a senior training specialist with the University of Florida TREEO Center, to set up a successful six-part series of microscope training on monitoring activated sludge.
She worked with laboratory supply vendors to host training sessions aimed at helping labs meet the updated WDR requirements. She also offered presentations featuring troubleshooting for biochemical oxygen demand, oil and grease, and minimizing contamination for low-level metals analysis.
Birdsell is also a member of the CWEA State Lab committee, where she worked to help update the CWEA Lab Analyst exam as a subject matter expert.
“Heidi is an excellent communicator who can identify and engage all stakeholders to ensure any changes to current practice are practical and educate staff on those changes to ensure compliance,” Brown said.
After earning a degree in chemistry, Birdsell started her career as an analyst in the environmental field. While working in the Denver area, she became familiar with laboratory positions within the wastewater industry and, in 2013, began working for a reclamation district in that area.
In 2018, Birdsell and her family relocated to California, where she secured a temporary assignment in the Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) Laboratory. Less than a year later, in 2019, she was hired full-time at DSRSD, where she currently serves as the Senior Quality Assurance Chemist.
For Birdsell, the best thing about the job is that there is never a dull moment. “With our small staff, I get to wear a lot of different hats, and with all the operational changes with the new regulations, there is always a lot to learn and do,” she said. In fact, Birdsell is still learning. In 2023, she earned her CWEA Lab Analyst Grade IV certification.
Birdsell said that when she explains that she works in a lab testing wastewater, everyone assumes it is dirty work testing toilet water all day.
“They just don’t understand all the complexities of the job,” she said. “People think they just flush their toilet, and it all goes away.”
One thing that has recently drawn more attention to lab work is testing for COVID-19 in wastewater. Birdsell said it really pushed lab work into the forefront and opened peoples’ eyes to what the lab can really do.
For those interested in moving from their division to lab work, Birdsell encourages everyone to be curious and even spend some time in a lab to ask questions and see what goes on day-to-day. She says that science degrees aren’t always necessary, and having some experience in the wastewater field is a great start.
“Working in the lab is a unique experience,” she said. “Labs put a strong emphasis on quality and updated standards and help to build public trust.”
Recognize accomplished water professionals who are making a significant, positive impact on California’s water by nominating them for an Emerging Leader feature in CWEA’s Clean Water Magazine. Details here >
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