Sheila Murphy has been part of the BASIN team since 1999. She is a hydrologist/geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, where she studies the impacts of natural and human factors on river chemistry and develops water education programs. Before the USGS, she worked for the City of Boulder, where she interpreted water quality data from city, state, and federal agencies and developed web pages for varying levels of education. She has written a number of publications, including State of Watershed: Water Quality of Boulder Creek, a citizen’s guide to water quality in the Boulder area. She has also worked as an environmental consultant at gold, copper, molybdenum, and uranium mines in the Western U.S. Sheila has a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree in geosciences from Penn State University. She serves as adjunct faculty at Naropa University, and volunteers with the non-profit groups Colorado Watershed Assembly, Boulder Creek Watershed Initiative, and the Community of Sudanese and American Women/Men.

Sheila’s publications about the Boulder Creek Watershed (links to http://wwwbrr.cr.usgs.gov/projects/SWC_Boulder_Watershed/)

Water quality and geology information on the BASIN website prepared by Sheila (link to http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/watershed/wqhome.html and http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/watershed/geology/)