AWWA Water Champion – Christina Murphy, West Des Moines Water Works, Iowa

Christina Murphy is general manager at West Des Moines Water Works (WDMWW) in Iowa, where she oversees a treatment plant and wholesale water purchases for 28,000 customers. On this International Women’s Day, AWWA salutes her and the many other inspiring women who ensure their communities have reliable and safe water services.

Education: B.S. and M.S., Biological Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia

Job duties: I have been general manager at WDMWW since 2019. I oversee everything from source to tap, including treatment of a 10 million gallons per day (MGD) plant and purchasing of up to nine MGD of water wholesale.

Describe WDMWW’s involvement in regional planning. We are one of 12 entities that are finalizing the regionalization of water production in the Des Moines metropolitan area. It has taken more than a decade to find a model everyone can support. The real work of establishing a Central Iowa Water Works is just beginning.

Our driving interest in regionalization is long-term water supply needs. The data and studies clearly show we are going to need other sources of water beyond the next decade, and we need to plan now for these future needs. Detailed analysis shows that working together for regional water production will save our customers as much as 30%, about $500 million, over the next 40 years. (Pictured above, Christina Murphy with family and as an Iowa Section trustee presenting an award to Mitch Pinkerton.)

What lessons has WDMWW learned through this process? It’s most important to truly listen to others’ points of view, be willing to challenge your own assumptions, and not be afraid to have tough conversations. It was essential for us to have a mindset to find a win-win solution to concerns, instead of throwing in the towel when we hit roadblocks. It also helped that the core team had a deep, professional respect for each other.

What do you like best about serving your community? West Des Moines is a rapidly growing and vibrant community. Providing safe, reliable drinking water every day despite numerous challenges is something our whole staff can be proud of. With careful planning and investment by those before me, we’ve been able to keep main breaks to a minimum and water rates to some of the lowest in the area, all while supporting residential and commercial growth and five new data centers in the last 10 years.

How and why did you get involved in the water sector? I grew up spending weekends enjoying recreation (boating, fishing, skiing, tubing) on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. I helped sandbag during the 1993 flood and spent five weeks in 2006 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New Orleans conducting damage assessments of drainage canals. I was mesmerized by the impact of water on our lives and am drawn to how powerfully water can impact us in many ways. 

What led to your focus on water system operations? Having an engineering background makes me appreciate the technical aspects of finding source water, treating it to safe drinking water standards, and getting it to our customers’ homes and businesses. Collaborating with our team to find solutions to complex challenges is where I find joy in what I do.

Professional background: As an undergraduate, I joined the Student Career Experience Program within the USDA’s NRCS in 2001. I was with NRCS until 2007, eventually landing as an engineer in the Iowa state office and working on flood control dams, erosion control projects, wetlands, and water supply lake studies. 

In 2007, I became assistant director of Ames Water and Pollution Control. I returned to this role a second time after moving to Indiana for four years for my husband’s career and having two children. While in Indiana, I worked part-time at Purdue University as a lecturer on soil and water engineering and capstone engineering. When we moved back to Iowa in 2013, I consulted on water distribution and wastewater projects and then spent five more years as assistant director in Ames before joining WDMWW. 

I definitely did not follow the typical pathway to becoming a water utility general manager. When I tried to re-enter the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom, I was turned down more than I had ever been in my life. My experience helps bring perspective on the challenges of both roles.

Please describe your family and interests: My husband of 18 years, Patrick, is also an engineer and we have a daughter, Raegan, 14, and son, Mitchell, 11. We enjoy keeping busy on our acreage with gardening and our border doodle, Apollo. Our spare time is spent traveling to hockey rinks all over the Midwest cheering on our kids, as well as watching the other sports they enjoy.

As an Iowa Section trustee, how have you benefited from your AWWA involvement? AWWA has been such a welcoming environment and has allowed me to grow a significant network of colleagues whom I can reach out to for advice or ideas. It brings me a lot of joy to help the next generation of developing leaders and see them thrive in their careers.