Water Resources Engineering

Water Resources Engineering

Water Resources Engineering covers a broad spectrum, but is primarily concerned with the study of selected topics in applied hydrology, hydraulics, applied limnology, water resources systems analysis, water resources, environmental impact assessment, hydraulic structures, irrigation and drainage.

Hydrology studies characteristics and occurrence of natural waters. An important aspect is the fate of the material which water carries with it. Hydrological information and knowledge is at the heart of all water resources management and protection. Hydraulics deals mostly with natural waters: discharges and currents in rivers, manmade channels, lakes, coastal and seas. Water resources engineering interfaces with other branches of science like mathematics, chemistry, (geo)physics, sociology, and forestry to name a few.

All life on earth is dependent on the global cycle of water. However, many times there is either too much or too little water; there is no water where it is needed or the rain comes too early or too late; or the quality of the water is bad. Sustainable water resources management and planning aims in solving these problems in such a manner that no options are taken away from the future generations.

Water resources engineering is an important branch of civil engineering. Problems which currently are considered serious which only occur in some parts of the world, like overpopulation, the effects of climate change, urbanization, and industrialization will become more global. All these together will make the quest for abundant and clean freshwater a critical one in the future.