Peter Rietkerk may be hired Tuesday as the next general manager for the South San Joaquin Irrigation District.

The SSJID board is considering approval of an employment contract for Rietkerk who is currently the general manager of the Patterson Irrigation District.

He will replace Jeff Shields who is stepping down in mid-October.

The 12,957-acre Patterson district is about a fifth the size of the SSJID that serves agricultural concerns around Manteca, Ripon, and Escalon as well as providing water to the cities of Manteca, Lathrop and Tracy. The Patterson district is generally bounded by the City of Patterson and Highway 33 on the west and the San Joaquin River on the east.

One of Rietkerk’s major accomplishments at the Patterson irrigation District was a state-of-the-art fish screen that protected endangered fish by operating them from entering the intake for water from the San Joaquin River that is used to irrigate farms.

The facility is the largest on-river fish screen along the banks of the San Joaquin River. With an automated brush-cleaning system to keep the screens free of debris, the pump station prevents endangered fish like Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead from being harmed at the intake while maintaining a reliable water source for Patterson area farmers.

Rietkerk earned his degree at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and his Masters of Science in civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis.