General Manager, Rachel Murphy, P.E.
Rachel Murphy was appointed the General Manager (GM) of the Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) in September 2022, becoming the first woman to lead CCWD in the General Manager role. Her 26 years of experience includes the design, construction, operations, and maintenance of water systems, development of regional and local partnerships, effective management of significant operating and project budgets, success leading transformational organizational changes and operational initiatives as well as management of safety, budget, performance standards, incident response and daily operations.
GM Murphy started working at CCWD in 2008 as the Engineering Manager and was promoted to Director of Engineering in 2010. In 2019, she became Assistant General Manager overseeing the Engineering and Operations & Maintenance departments, leading approximately two-thirds of the employees at CCWD. In this capacity, GM Murphy led the operations and maintenance of water systems serving more than 500,000 customers generating over $145 million annually while managing over 200 professional and technical staff. In her 15 years with CCWD, GM Murphy has been a leader on many design and construction projects, large and small. To name a few, she was the project manager during the planning efforts for the Canal Modernization Project, design and construction team leader for the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion Project, and project manager for many critical infrastructure projects throughout our water system.
GM Murphy has also been a leader in organizational development for CCWD. She is a champion for CCWD’s safety program, taking a leadership role in efforts to achieve “best in class.” She is also a strong advocate for CCWD’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion program providing early leadership in retaining consultant support services, engaging with on-site committees, and taking the executive sponsor role for CCWD’s first employee resource group.
GM Murphy earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Santa Clara University and Master of Science in Engineering from University of California at Berkeley. Prior to CCWD, she worked for the City of Walnut Creek for 11 years, starting as an intern and working her way up to Engineering Services Manager.