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Water resources engineers plan and build infrastructure for safe drinking water, wastewater disposal, and stormwater management. They design dams, levees, and wetland conservation, and analyze surface runoff, groundwater, and sediment transport. They use computer-aided design and modeling to predict flow characteristics and detect threats to water supplies. They also study coastal waters and wetlands for environmental effects and evaluate hydroelectric dam construction.
The use, control and conservation of water resources is the goal of civil engineers specializing in water resources engineering. This profession is responsible for both groundwater and groundwater. Engineers plan and help build the infrastructure that keeps drinking water safe. They are also involved in water drainage and tank maintenance, devising methods for wastewater disposal and treatment, and planning stormwater management networks. Water engineering professionals design dams, dams, and levees, and may be responsible for wetland and marine water conservation.
Areas of water resources engineering include analysis of surface runoff, groundwater and seepage, and sediment and contaminant transport. Engineers often use computer-aided design (CAD) programming tools to predict flow characteristics using computational fluid dynamics modeling. Another area of responsibility is studying methods to detect, identify, and eliminate the threat of disease or poison that terrorists might attempt to introduce into a nation’s water supplies. River engineering and river landforms, as well as ice-covered rivers and streams, are also of interest to engineers in this profession.
Hydraulic water resources engineering is primarily concerned with the flow and transport of fluids as well as fluids at rest. Engineers use gravity and other physical properties to design channels, sluice gates, irrigation projects, and water cooling systems in nuclear power plants. Flood forecasting, flood mapping, and watershed planning to divert floodwaters are all performed by water resources engineers. Coastal waters and wetlands are often surveyed and analyzed by these engineers for environmental effects; various geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing instruments (RS) are used for the location of sources and for the mapping of fluvial modifications.
During storm surges or floods, downstream effects must be determined quickly to alert residents of these areas. Risk and vulnerability analyzes for water infrastructure often use two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) models to study the impact of potential flooding in an emergency situation. Where rivers flow into the sea, the combined impact studies involve sea level rise to determine whether dams or levees will be affected and to design any necessary watersheds that may be required for higher mean tides.
Watershed pollution and remedial treatments are also a concern for a water resources engineering professional. It is often necessary to test for heavy metals, pathogenic microbes and contaminants in all waters. Hydroelectric dam construction must be carefully evaluated beforehand to determine whether it will truly be beneficial to an area’s combined water and power needs.
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