People Behind the Pipes

Nathan Murphy (right) explains a process to a Senior Instrumentation & Controls Technician.

1. Tell us about your job.

Many people don’t realize how much electricity, automation, and instrumentation is required to provide water and wastewater service to our customers. Without it, we would not be able to pump drinking water to homes, monitor water quality, treat wastewater, or meet California’s environmental protection standards. 

I manage the team of electricians and instrumentation & control technicians who maintain Dublin San Ramon Services District’s electrical equipment, ensuring that water and wastewater services run uninterrupted 24/7. 

2. How did you get into the industry? 

I have been an electrician for 20 years. I received my training through serving four years in the US Navy while stationed in Norfolk, VA. After I left the service, I worked as an electrician and a maintenance supervisor down in San Diego. I eventually moved to the Bay Area when I accepted a position with Silicon Valley Clean Water, which runs the wastewater treatment plant in Redwood City. Then I started working for Dublin San Ramon Services District a little over four years ago. 

I was an electrician when I first began working in the water/wastewater field. However, I eventually moved into instrumentation & controls, which allowed me to eventually become an Instrumentation, Controls & Electrical Supervisor. Now I am a certified journeyman electrician, a Certified Control System Technician (CCST) Level II, and have an Electrical & Instrumentation Technologist Grade IV Certification. 
 

3. What do you like best about your job?  What are the biggest challenges? 

I don’t like to think of things as challenges. They are just new problems to solve and a way to expand my knowledge and learn. Since I was promoted to a supervisory position, I have been focusing on becoming a better leader and training/developing my team to become subject matter experts.  

I have also been working on gaining more experience in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).  VBA is the computer programming language that runs the wastewater treatment plant’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquistion (SCADA) system. Plant operators use SCADA to control and monitor everything at the plant. My team is responsible for using VBA to develop graphics, animations, and controls that allow plant operators to do their work more effectively. 

In this industry, there are always opportunities to learn something new. 
 

4. What do you like to do in your free time? 

I have three kids and my youngest is still in high school. His baseball games take up most weekends. I like playing tennis and working on cars. Right now, I am fixing up a 1985 Pontiac Trans Am.