DP Logo

Dissertation Services

  • Dissertation Writing Service
  • Dissertation Assistance Service
  • Dissertation Consulting Service
  • Buy Dissertation
  • Dissertation Abstract Writing Services
  • Dissertation Formatting Service
  • Buy Dissertation Methodology
  • Dissertation Case Study Service
  • Pay For Dissertation
  • Dissertation Chapter Writing Services
  • Dissertation Conclusion Services
  • Dissertation Data Analysis Services
  • Dissertation Discussion Writing Services
  • Dissertation Introduction Writing Service
  • Dissertation Outline Service
  • Online Dissertation Help
  • Write My Dissertation
  • Do My Dissertation
  • Help With Thesis Writing Service
  • Dissertation Writing England
  • Dissertation Writing Service London
  • Dissertation Writing Northern Ireland
  • Dissertation Writing Scotland
  • Dissertation Writing Wales
  • Personal Statement Writing Service

Dissertation Subjects

  • Marketing Dissertation
  • Digital Marketing Dissertation
  • Law Dissertation Help
  • Economics Dissertation
  • Accounting Dissertation
  • Business Management Dissertation
  • Nursing Dissertation
  • Psychology Dissertation
  • Social Media Marketing Dissertation
  • English Literature Dissertation Help
  • Finance Dissertation
  • History Dissertation
  • HRM Dissertation
  • IT Dissertation
  • Linguistics Dissertation Help
  • Supply Chain Management Dissertation Help
  • Health And Social Care Dissertation

Dissertation Levels

  • Buy Master Dissertation
  • MBA Dissertation Writing Service
  • Buy PhD Dissertation
  • Masters Dissertation Proposal Help
  • MBA Dissertation Proposal Help
  • PhD Data Collection Services
  • PhD Dissertation Proposal Help
  • PhD Qualitative Data Analysis Services
  • Master Thesis Help
  • PhD Thesis Writing Help
  • PhD Dissertation Editing
  • Finance Dissertation Editing
  • Digital Marketing Dissertation Editing
  • Accounting Dissertation Editing
  • Sociology Dissertation Editing
  • English Literature Dissertation Editing
  • Economics Dissertation Editing
  • Linguistics Dissertation Editing
  • Business Management Dissertation Editing
  • Psychology Dissertation Editing
  • Marketing Dissertation Editing
  • Academic Poster Designing Services
  • Dissertation PowerPoint Presentation Service
  • Dissertation Presentation Writing Services
  • Literature Review Writing Service
  • Primary Data Collection Service
  • Qualitative Data Dissertation Services
  • Research Data Collection Service
  • Secondary Data Collection Help
  • DISSERTATION SERVICES
  • DISSERTATION SUBJECTS
  • DISSERTATION LEVELS
  • Buy MBA Dissertation
  • PhD Dissertation Editing Services

Hire a Writer

Get an expert writer for your academic paper

Check Samples

Take a look at samples for quality assurance

  • Dissertation Topics

Free customised dissertation topics for your assistance

  • Water Engineering Dissertation Topics
  • Accounting Dissertation Topics (8)
  • Banking & Finance Dissertation Topics (10)
  • Business Management Dissertation Topics (35)
  • Economic Dissertation Topics (1)
  • Education Dissertation Topics (12)
  • Engineering Dissertation Topics (9)
  • English Literature Dissertation Topics (3)
  • HRM Dissertation Topics (3)
  • Law Dissertation Topics (13)
  • Marketing Dissertation Topics (9)
  • Medical Dissertation Topics (7)
  • Nursing Dissertation Topics (10)
  • Other Topics (10)
  • Supply Chain Dissertation Topics (2)
  • Biomedical Science (1)
  • Business Management Research Topics (1)
  • Computer Science Research Topics (1)
  • Criminology Research Topics (1)
  • Economics Research Topics (1)
  • Google Scholar Research Topics (1)
  • HR Research Topics (1)
  • Law Research Topics (1)
  • Management Research Topics (1)
  • Marketing Research Topics (1)
  • MBA Research Topics (1)
  • Medical Research Topics (1)
  • How To (22)

Get a native to improve your language & writing

Enjoy quality dissertation help on any topic

Qualitative & Quantitative data analysis

Latest Water Engineering Dissertation Topics and Ideas

A good dissertation topic is the most crucial part of your dissertation writing process. Why you might ask? It is because a good dissertation topic not only helps you in achieving maximum possible marks,  but it helps in establishing your dissertation’s academic credibility and gives you the opportunity to voice your opinion in your respective field. Therefore, it is immensely important for you to thrive for the best possible dissertation topic for yourself.

Table of Contents

How “Dissertation Proposal” Can Help You!

Our top dissertation writing experts are waiting 24/7 to assist you with your university project, from critical literature reviews to a complete masters dissertation.

Here's the List of Water Resources Engineering Thesis Topics

To help you in your journey of achieving academic excellence and distinctness our team of the most experienced and qualified expert writers have prepared the best free list of custom water engineering dissertation topics and water engineering dissertation ideas that you can find online.

The study aims to design efficient and effective water filtration plants to remove toxic industrial waste.

  • To design an innovative water filtration plant to remove industrial waste.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of plants for multi-variant impurities.
  • To analyse the purity of water after its treatment in filtration to determine whether it is safe to use for irrigation and drinking purpose.
  • To analyse the design and operational cost of the filtration plant and its environmental benefits.

The study aims to understand And Examine the Risks Associated with Excess Water Production in Petroleum Operations and the Ways to Treat It.

  • To find the risks associated with high water production along with Hydrocarbon
  • To analyse the properties of produced water to design effective filtration process.
  • To design the process included in the treatment of produced water and their effectiveness.
  • To determine the quality of treated water and its possible uses.

The study aims to analyse the Impacts of Artificial Canal Water System on Natural Water Cycle with Its Possible Outcomes

  • To analyse the design of artificial canal water system for modern infrastructures
  • To analyze the environmental impact of artificial canal water system
  • To evaluate the possible outcomes of artificial canal system and the ways to minimise them.
  • To design high efficiency and environment friendly urban water distribution system.

The study aim To Design an Efficient and Effective Water Distribution System in High Rise Building

  • To find the major issues in the existing water distribution system of high rise building and the ways to address them.
  • To analyse the concept of cost-effective water distribution in high rise buildings.
  • To analyse the possible failure points and its impact on building structure and health and safety of the residents.
  • To provide the quality control measures that can prevent the leakage and corrosion problems.

The study aim to evaluate effective Water Drainage System in Urban Infrastructure By using Computational Modelling.

  • To evaluate the effective water drainage system for urban infrastructure by using computational modelling.
  • To evaluate the simulated study for the effectiveness of water drainage system under uncontrollable and controllable variables.
  • To analyse the sustainable water drainage system design for maximum benefits.
  • To determine the maintenance cost and the reliability of the system in the event of natural emergency.

The research aims to design robust pipe network system that can handle the industrial needs of manufacturing plants within economical limits.

  • To analyse the challenges related to the design of robust pipe network.
  • To evaluate the roles of robust pipe network in modern industry.
  • To perform the economic analysis of robust pipe network.

The study aims to assess the risk of urban flooding using twin Digital technology analyse the impact on urban communication.

  • To study the risks of urban flooding using twin digital technology.
  • To evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of hydrodynamic models from urban development and planning.
  • To evaluate the techniques that can help in minimizing the impact of urban flooding.

The research aims to analyse the effects of accelerated glacier melting rate on irrigation system and the ways to minimise the consequences.

  • To analyse the effects of accelerated glacier melting on irrigation.
  • To design the water irrigation system with better flood resistance.
  • To evaluate the possible ways to minimise the effects of accelerated glacier melting rate.
  • The research aims to analyse the use of polluted sewage water for the production of electricity using Bio gas and Hydro energy methods.
  • To evaluate the cost of energy by the sewage water electricity production process.
  • To evaluate the need of treatment of water before using it for energy generation.
  • To analyse the economic and social challenges related to the project and ways to minimise them.

The research aims to design porous concrete material to store the rainwater in urban roads.

  • To design the porous material for the transfer of rain water and proper way for storage.
  • To determine the challenges related to the application of porous concrete on urban roads and the ways to address them.
  • To evaluate the environmental impact for using porous concrete material.

Research Aim

This exploratory research aims to explore the impact of the dynamics of water distribution systems on water pipe leakage in a high rise building. The purpose of selecting this subject area is that currently leakage is observed to occur in all water distribution systems. However, scholars have been investigating about certain types of systems that can significantly assist in improving water leakage. Other than this, this study has emphasized on this specific subject area as very few researchers have discussed about the effects of water distribution systems on leakage of water pipes.

Research Objectives

The aim of this study can be achieved by addressing secondary objectives which are enlisted as follows;

  • To determine and evaluate factors accountable for substantially increased leakage exponents.
  • To assess leakage methods that focus on quantifying the amount of water leaked from water distribution pipe in high rise building.
  • To explore about the leakage control models which can significantly contribute in controlling present and future leakage levels efficiently. \
  • To analyze the impact of leakage on the sustainability of high rise buildings, the surrounding of such buildings, as well as, health and safety issues of population residing within those buildings.

This research is conducted to critically assess excessive urban flooding risks on traffic networks. However, this study focuses on digital twin technology to acquire crucially significant research outcomes. This subject area has been taken into consideration specifically because of the fact that the impacts of urban flooding are predicted to be increasing substantially. It is because of increased urbanization, growth of population and climate change. In addition to this, it has been observed that drainage systems in most of the urban areas are not sufficiently efficient to overcome increased volume of water gathered after rainfall. Thus, this study would thereby, emphasize on analyzing the role of digital technology in this respect.

In order to achieve the goal of this study, secondary objectives have been proposed and enlisted as follows;

  • To identify the stimulation of flood events on the basis of different climate change scenarios.
  • To evaluate the effectiveness of hydrodynamic model, digital twin and traffic model in the planning and development of urban areas.
  • To assess the exposure and vulnerability, in the context of mobility disruption in the current transport development plan.

This study has been proposed to carry out the analysis of fostering robust pipe network design when setting up large manufacturing plant. This study significantly focuses on the cement manufacturing factories in the United Kingdom. In the recent era, it has been observed that robustness is one of the significant component which plays significant role to meet the demands of customers. Other than this, it has been found that very few scholars have focused on the use of robustness in the management of segment isolation, as well as, detection of pipe burst. Thus, the current study focuses on these aspects with reference to cement manufacturing factories in UK.

Secondary research objectives have been proposed and enlisted below to meet the aim of this study.

  • To explore the aforementioned issues related to the designing of robust pipe network.
  • To assess the role of robust pipe network in the manufacturing of large plants.
  • To understand the current and future advantages and disadvantages of robust pipe network design in setting up large manufacturing plant.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to conduct the exploratory study on the benefits of cooperation in transboundary river basins. Further, this research aims to investigate that how does it make the water resource system more efficient and benefits riparian stakeholders. Within the Water Convention, cooperation is considered as one of major obligations. States are implementing the convention and preparing for accession to the benefits of cooperation that can help in enhancing the environmental sustainability, improving the human well-being, accelerating economic growth, and increasing the political stability. Cooperation aids in producing the funds for the projects in transboundary basins. It is also one of the great way of endorsing the local population.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to conduct the exploratory study on the benefits of cooperation in transboundary river basins. Secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To study the cooperation in transboundary river basins.
  • To evaluate the benefits of cooperation in transboundary river basins.
  • To investigate the benefit of the water resource system.
  • To evaluate the ways through which the water resource system more efficient.
  • To investigate the method through which the water resource system can provide benefit to the riparian stakeholders.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to critically evaluate the flood and drought assessment in a human-dominated water cycle. Further, this research aims to investigate the anomalies introduced in the water cycle due to human domination when compared to the natural cycle. There is the great role played by the water cycles on the planet. The intervention of the human within the water cycle alters the dynamic role of the water. It is seen that human has produced some variance and anomalies within the water cycle. Therefore, it is very crucial to understand these glitches and compared it with the natural water cycle. Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to critically evaluate the flood and drought assessment in a human dominated water cycle. Secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To conduct the evaluation of the flood assessment within the human dominated water cycle.
  • To conduct the evaluation of the drought assessment within the human dominated water cycle.
  • To evaluate the anomalies introduced in the water cycle due to human domination.
  • To evaluate the anomalies introduced in the water cycle due to natural cycle.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to study the removal of toxic and poisonous metals from synthetic waste water of industrial factories in water recycling plants. The untreated wastewaters released from the factories causes an increase of toxic pollutants within the aquatic climate as well. It is not only harmful to the aquatic climate but also for the water recycling plant. Toxic and poisonous metals are considered as one of the most dangerous contaminants present in the water and even their low concentrations can be hazardous for the health. Therefore, it is very essential to remove the toxic and poisonous metals from synthetic waste water of industrial factories in water recycling plants.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to study the removal of toxic and poisonous metals from synthetic waste water of industrial factories in water recycling plants. The secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To assess the risk of toxic and poisonous metals in to the water.
  • To evaluate the ways through which the toxic and poisonous metals can be removed from the synthetic waste water of industrial factories.
  • To understand the process of water recycling.
  • To evaluate either it is safe to use the recycled water from the water recycling plants.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to conduct the managerial study on the state estimation for monitoring structures during extreme loading and environmental conditions. Further, this research aims to evaluate Japan’s tsunamis of 2011. The environmental event can drastically damage the structure, therefore it is essential to assess and monitors the structures that are

subjected to these kinds of such events before and after the occurrence of potential damage.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to conduct the managerial study on the state estimation for monitoring structures during extreme loading and environmental conditions. The secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To formulate the state estimation algorithms for imaging structures subjected to extreme loading present.
  • To validate the algorithms by means of using experimental data from structural testing.
  • To assess the 3D progression of damages.
  • To gain an insight into the physical processes occurring within structures subject to extreme loading.
  • To gain an insight into the damages occur due to Japan’s tsunamis of 2011.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to study the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications for better management and effective development and upgradation of urban drainage. Computational Fluid Dynamics is considered as one of the hi-tech tools for the

Severe problems. Upgrading and developing urban drainage is one of the critical tasks, therefore it is essential to use high tech tools. CFD in this concern can help in yielding maximum benefits.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to study the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications for better management and effective development and upgradation of urban drainage. The secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To evaluate how the computational fluid dynamic can be used for management of the urban drainage.
  • To assess the ways through which computational fluid dynamic can develop and upgrade the urban drainage.
  • To visualize the 3D flow patterns of the material within the urban drainage.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to critically evaluate the flow patterns and pollutant retention in vegetated sustainable drainage system (SuDS) ponds. Sustainable urban drainage systems comprise great significance within the green infrastructure. It is essential to view the 3D flow patterns of the material within the sustainable drainage system ponds by using the computational fluid dynamic for better visualisation. Therefore, this research is conducted for efficiently evaluating the pollutant retention within the sustainable drainage ponds.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to critically evaluate the flow patterns and pollutant retention in vegetated sustainable drainage system (SuDS) ponds. Secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To gain insight into the 3D flow patterns of the material within the sustainable drainage system ponds.
  • To analyse the sustainable drainage system ponds.
  • To develop the strong CFD-modelling method to integrate better design.
  • To critically evaluate the pollutant retention in vegetated sustainable drainage system ponds.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to conduct the study for formulating a structure for the enhancement of runoff detention in green roofs and storm water planters. There are various methods that helps in minimising flood risks and surface water run-off in an eco-friendly manner such as sustainable drainage system . Therefore, it is essential to conduct the research on constructing structure for the enhancement of runoff detention in green roofs and storm water planters.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to conduct the study for formulating a structure for the enhancement of runoff detention in green roofs and storm water planters. Secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To construct a structure for the enhancement of runoff detention in green roofs.
  • To construct a structure for the enhancement of runoff detention in storm water planters.
  • To evaluate the benefits of the storm water planters.
  • To evaluate the benefits of the green roofs.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to conduct the study for optimization and characteristics of copper pickling wastewater treatment in a single reactor using bio electrode process. Further, this research aims to study how effective is this technique in removing toxic and poisonous metals. Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to conduct the study for optimization and characteristics of copper pickling wastewater treatment in a single reactor using bio electrode process. The secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To gain complete insight into the copper pickling wastewater treatment.
  • To understand the complete process of using bio electrode.
  • To evaluate optimization and characteristics of copper pickling wastewater treatment in a single reactor using bio electrode process.
  • To assess the effectiveness of the optimization and characteristics of copper pickling wastewater treatment in a single reactor using bio electrode process.
  • To evaluate either the optimization and characteristics of copper pickling wastewater treatment in a single reactor using bio electrode process is useful in removing toxic and poisonous metals or not.

Aims The aim of this study is that, to develop efficient model surrogates for water resources and subsurface containment management. The surrogate modelling is also said to be metamodeling which used from last few decades. This research reviews the efforts on the surrogates' model for the water resources because EnviroForensic/Arcient provides a comprehensive array of the surface water services and groundwater. This study investigates the contamination extent in the subsurface and evaluates the potential impact on the water supplies. The temporally and spatially variables parameters have been used with sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. Objectives The objectives of this study are the following:

  • To analyse the model surrogates for water resources.
  • To analyse the model surrogates for subsurface containment management.
  • To develop the novel efficient model surrogates for water resources and subsurface containment water management.
  • To identify the water quality assessment and groundwater supply.
  • To analyse the reservoir quality models.
  • To observe the impact of the surrogate model for water resources and subsurface containment management.

Aims This study aims that the critical analysis for the modelling of geomechanical inverse and the uncertainty quantification for the natural geysers. The predictive modelling of the coupled geomechanical processes at the scale of the continuum for addressing the decision making in the area of geological carbon sequestration surface waste disposal development of the geothermal and groundwater and the reservoir engineering. The information that has been taken by developing the inverse models which merge with the response of coupled geomechanical models. These models have a large number of outputs and inputs. This research aims that avoidance saving and consumption by replacing with the quantification for natural geysers. Objectives The objectives of this study are the following:

  • To analyse the geomechanical inverse modelling.
  • To analyse the uncertainty quantification for natural geysers.
  • To evaluate the critical analysis of the inverse modelling of geomechanical and the uncertainty quantification for the natural geysers.

Aim The study aims that it is a systematic study for the understanding and quantifying with the associated risk subsurface fluid injection in the industry of petroleum. This study also determines the subsurface containment assurance with environmental damage, impact on the well operations and damage to the operating assets which incurred by the leakage due to injection or production of the fluids from the intended ones. Therefore, in the petroleum industry, the operations management of change and process and well operations with the associated risk of fluid subsurface injection. This process has been used at a worldwide scale for the variety of the purposes and irrespective injection target and observed a land uplift. Objectives: The objectives of this study are the following:

  • To understand the subsurface fluid injection.
  • To understand and quantify the associated risk with the subsurface fluid injection.

To critically evaluate the related risks with subsurface fluid injection in the petroleum industry

Get Free Customize Topics Now

Academic Level Undergraduate Masters PhD Others

Here is the Free List Water Resources Thesis Topics

Water engineering overlaps a lot of other disciplines e.g. urban engineering, structural engineering, civil engineering, manufacturing engineering to name a few. Therefore, a few water engineering dissertation topics might not be enough to cover the whole aspect of water engineering. To solve this problem our industry specialist have prepared a list of some of the best water engineering dissertation ideas that you can use to formulate best water engineering dissertation topics for yourselves.  

Research Aim The aim of this research is to conduct the study on the development of an advanced dynamic risk assessment tool based on agent based modelling. Agent based model is the type computational models for interactions of autonomous agents and simulating the actions. It is helpful tool for the risk assessment. Agent based model can be used for the assessment of the flash floods. Therefore, it is essential to conduct the research on the risk assessment of the flash flood through Agent based model.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to conduct the study on the development of an advanced dynamic risk assessment tool based on agent based modelling. Secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To gain complete insight into the agent based model.
  • To understand the effectiveness of the agent based model.
  • To evaluate the development of an advanced dynamic risk assessment tool based on agent based modelling.
  • To perform the risk assessment of the flash flooding.

Research Aim The aim of this research is to conduct the exploratory study for understanding urban flooding using physical modelling. Physical modelling is one of the prominent tools of understanding urban flooding. Therefore, this research is conducted for evaluating the effectiveness of physical modelling.

Research Objectives The primary objective of this research is to achieve the research aim that is to conduct the exploratory study for understanding urban flooding using physical modelling.  The secondary objective of the research are as follows:

  • To evaluate urban flooding.
  • To understand the urban flooding using physical modelling.
  • To use the dual drainage hydraulic for assessment of risks associated with urban flooding.

The aim of the study to analyze the use of HYBRID ANAEROBIC BAFFLE REACTOR (HABR) for the decrease in Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and generate quality byproduct through the spent wash of molasses. The study will be the experimental condition investigation such as the concreate of the solution, pH of the solution and the NPK quantity existing in sludge for the direct use.

Objectives:

The study is to be conducted on the sugar industry wastewater treatment through HABR. The aim of the study can be achieved through secondary objectives. Therefore, the secondary objectives of the study are the following:

  • To study the COD content variation with the aspect of various Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT).
  • To study the BOD content variation with the aspect of various HRTs.
  • To study the Total suspended Solid (TSS) content variation with the aspect to various HRTs.
  • To study the pH variation in the period of treatment with aspect to various HRTs.
  • To obtain the optimal HRTs of the reactor.
  • To analyze the anaerobic digestion use as the overall solution to decrease COD and BOD.

The aim of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the groundwater and surface water treatment. The research aims to study the use of bio-coagulant for the treatment.

The primary objective of the study is to achieve the aim of the study. However, the aim can be achieved through secondary objectives. Therefore, the secondary objectives of the study are the following:

  • To study the concept of groundwater treatment.
  • To study the concept of surface water treatment.
  • To analyze the use of Bio-coagulant in the treatment.
  • To compare and contrast the difference between groundwater treatment and surface water treatment.
  • To analyze the characteristics of groundwater treatment.
  • To analyze the characteristics of surface water treatment.
  • To investigate how the turbidity level and the bacteriological contaminants can be reduced through natural coagulant which is locally available.
  • To evaluate ways for making the treatment process of water easy for the application of household.

The aim of the study is to comment and develop graphene oxide (GO) recent application as the adsorbent for the treatment of wastewater. The study aims to include a small introduction regarding adsorption data (Thermodynamics, isotherms and kinetics) and some of the major facts for the route preparation of graphene oxides (that is a magnetic material, nanocomposites etc). The categorization of the adsorbent that is prepared will also be commented with the help of the recent detail data regarding the utilisation of GO for the organic’s removal (that is antibiotics or dyes) and the wastewater heavy metals.

The primary objective of the study is to achieve the aim of the research. However, the aim of the research can be fulfilled through various secondary objectives. Therefore, the secondary objectives of the current research are the following:

  • To study the graphene effectiveness.
  • To evaluate the graphene effectiveness for the emulsified oil removal from water.
  • To investigate the conditions which will be best for the process of treatment.
  • To analyze the concept of adsorption.
  • To evaluate the use of adsorption.

The aim of the study is to perform a critical analysis of the usage of wastewater treatment using the reed bed lab-scale system using the australis phragmites. The research aims to represent the construction method of the root zone bed. The research aims to analyze the effectiveness of root zone bed for various contaminant removal using the treatment process of the root zone. The aim of the research is to discuss and compare the result for treated water samples and raw water.

The primary objective of the study is to achieve the aim of the research. However, the aim of the study can be achieved through secondary objectives. Therefore, the secondary objectives of the study are the following:

  • To study the parameters of wastewater.
  • To develop an understanding of the importance of root zone treatment.
  • To analyze the functions of phragmites australis.
  • To evaluate the concept of a reed bed system.
  • To study reed bed systems’ principles.
  • To study the advantage of using a reed bed.
  • To investigate the working and construction of reed bed.
  • To evaluate the kind of reed beds.

The aim of the study is to conduct a critical analysis of the treatment potential of domestic wastewater by using a constructed system of wetland. The research aims to improve the knowledge regarding the process of wastewater purification through the constructed wetlands in a humid environment. The study aims to develop the finest operation criteria and design that apply to the wetland or a similar environment.

The primary objective of the study is to achieve the aim of the study. The study aim can be achieved through secondary objectives. Therefore, the secondary objectives of the study are the following:

  • To determine the constructed wetland subsurface flow effectiveness for the treatment related to domestic wastewater.
  • To analyze the performance and processes that can be obtained in the constructed wetland with the help of species of phragmites Mauritius plants and Cyperus papyrus under various operating conditions and loading rates with the aspect to COD, TSS, BOD, pathogens and nutrients.
  • To analyze the macrophytes functional role that can be utilised in nutrients uptake and the capacity storage in the rooting and standing biomass.
  • To evaluate the performance and design of constructed wetland of household.
  • To suggest guidelines for construction, design, management and use of constructed wetlands on the basis of information collection on cost and processes involved.

The aim of the study is to analyze the utilization of pollution for generating electricity. The research aims to present the idea for making opportunities for hydropower from the sewage water which is treated.

Objective :

  • To evaluate the resource management and environmental aspect of different kinds of wastewater systems.
  • To determine different concepts for the choice of the system when planning a new or modifying the old wastewater system.
  • To study the considerations of energy in treatment plants of wastewater.
  • To analyze the distribution of energy in treatment plants of wastewater.
  • To analyze and evaluate energy performance.
  • To analyze methods for the consumption of energy.
  • To evaluate how the opportunities of hydropower can be generated through treated water of sewage.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of porous concrete for urban pavement and the harvesting of rainwater. The research aims to analyze the extent to which porous concrete might help to deal with urban flash floods.

  • To analyze the overall suitability for the preparation of porous pavement block on the basis of their grade, size, toughness index, angularity and compatibility.
  • To develop the finest size of coarse aggregate for the determined effective permeability and porosity.
  • To analyze the advanced characteristics like compressive strength, splitting strength and the resistance abrasion to analyze the porous concrete suitability for the pavement blocks.
  • To analyze the permeability and porosity of the standard in porous concrete for understanding and evaluating the rainwater harvesting and groundwater infiltration effectiveness.
  • To study how porous, concrete can assist with flash floods in urban areas.

The aim of the study is to conduct a systematic analysis of the treatability studies and design for cheap bio-filter in the treatment of greywater. The research aims to analyze the filter material performance in virus and bacteria removal from greywater.

The primary objective of the study is to achieve the aim of the study. However, the aim of the study can be achieved through secondary objectives. Therefore, the secondary objective of the study is the following:

  • To compare and contrast the efficacy of biochar, pine bark and filters of activated charcoal I the removal of viruses and bacteria from greywater.
  • To assess the filter performance.
  • To evaluate the effect of additional wastewater in the filter performance.
  • To review the result of using various filter material.

Consult Our Writers to Discuss Your Needs

View different varieties of dissertation topics and samples on multiple subjects for every educational level

A few tips to make your dissertation topic strong is by making sure that your topic is researchable, ensure that topic focuses on a particular problem, it should be relevant to your field, it should fill literature gap.

There are generally three types of research topics, descriptive ones that pose a question, comparative ones that compare 2 or more phenomenons, and causal ones to find cause and effect between two factors.

Some online resources you can visit are, research gate, econ papers, springer, science publishing group to name a few.

Common citation / referencing methods are MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, Harvard to name a few.

  • Visit the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • Apply to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  • Give to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Search Form

Water resources engineering research.

A river with a canoe in the distance.

  • Computational Modeling of Groundwater Flow
  • Nanoparticle Transport in Porous Media
  • Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources
  • Efficient Use of Water Resources for Food Security
  • Analytical Solutions to Hydraulic Problems
  • Numerical Modeling of Bridge Scour
  • Hydraulic Instrumentation
  • Streambank Erosion
  • Complex Physical Models
  • Evapotranspiration
  • Remote Sensing of Vegetation, Land Use, and Water Consumption
  • Spatial Characteristics of Water Resources using Geographic Information Systems
  • Hydraulic Engineering Education
  • Multi-criteria Decision Making
  • Stormwater Quality Modeling

Water Resources Engineering

David Admiraal

David Admiraal

Junke Guo

George Hunt

Ayse Kilic

Peter McCornick

Sorab Panday

Sorab Panday

Chittaranjan Ray

Chittaranjan Ray

Tirthankar Roy

Tirthankar Roy

  • Press Enter to activate screen reader mode.

Chair of Hydrology and Water Resources Management

Master theses are primarily offered to Master students of the Environmental Engineering curriculum at D-BAUG. In individual cases, it is also possible for students from D-BAUG Civil Engineering and other departments (e.g. D-USYS) and/or universities to carry out their Master thesis at the Chair. General information about the Master thesis is provided here .

Currently offered topics

Available Master thesis topics (and completed works) are listed in the table below with short descriptions (where available) and the supervisor. Please contact the supervisor(s) for more information. We encourage students also to develop their own ideas for Master research and consult them with Prof. Burlando, Prof. Molnar, the assistant's office or other potential supervisors. E-mail addresses can be found on the People page . Master theses can also be executed together with external partners (consulting offices, administration offices, other universities) and build upon your Master project.

Master Thesis presentations are public

Upcoming Master thesis presentations (defences) are highlighted in the table below and a link or room is provided. Finishing Master students are especially welcome to attend the presentations of their colleagues.

Further information

Official documents (e.g. program regulations) can be downloaded from the websites of the study programs: Civil Engineering Environmental Engineering

You have to digitally deliver your thesis report (including the declaration of originality), the final presentation, the poster and a folder with your code / digital work. In addition, please hand in at least one (1) bound hardcopy of your report for our archive and ask your supervisors if they prefer to receive a hardcopy as well. You also have to hand in your printed poster (A0 format).

Sasha Löffler

Water Resources - Research Topics

Water resources.

  • Information
  • Related Courses
  • Research Topics
  • Research Projects

Last Updated:

  • Agricultural Crop Classification
  • Bridge hydraulics
  • Climate change impact studies
  • Crop Yield Prediction
  • Data assimilation and analysis
  • Decision making, optimization, fuzzy set theory
  • Design of hydraulic structures
  • Drought Analysis and Risk Assessment
  • GIS/RS modeling and application in hydrology and water resources
  • Hydrometeorology/hydroclimatology
  • Hydrosystems reliability and risk assessment
  • Land Cover Classification
  • Modeling for numerical weather prediction and climate prediction
  • Operation of water distribution networks
  • Renewable energy (Hydropower, wind, and solar)
  • River engineering and river basin management
  • Seasonal Weather Forecasts
  • Short-term Weather Predictions
  • Snow hydrology
  • Water resources management

Developing optimum operational strategies for pumped-storage hydropower system. 

thesis topics for water resources engineering

While temperature increases significantly snowmelt-runoff peak time (Center time) shifts earlier.

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Satellite Snow Products for Hydrology: http://hsaf.meteoam.it

Operational snow products are produced on daily basis

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Non-existence or scarcity of ground observations of hydrometeorological variables in space and/or time limits the decision making processes or applications that are heavily dependent on such datasets. We can help these decision making processes by providing the cutting-edge remote sensing-based investigations supported by advanced data analysis techniques and machine learning methodologies.

Measuring snow depth, snow water equivalent at the field : 

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Snow Analyses  :

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Spatial distribution of snow depth, snow water equivalent and snow pack obtained from GPR analyses 

Accurate predictions of hydrometeorological variables such as precipitation, temperature, soil moisture, and runoff are essential in hazard early warning systems (e.g., floods, droughts, and heat-waves) and improved financial decision making systems (e.g., hydro-power, wind energy, and crop yield).  

Use of High-resolution (3-km) WRF Model:

thesis topics for water resources engineering

6. Data Analysis Supported By Machine Learning :

We can detect spatial and/or temporal signals existing in time series or spatially extensive datasets by utilizing various artificial intelligence and statistical techniques. The relevant information that is hidden in the big datasets can be mined at high precision.

thesis topics for water resources engineering

We can carry out site selection, optimization and prediction studies for hydropower, wind, and hybrid power systems by exploiting the hydrometeorological variables acquired from remote sensing observations, model simulations and relevant data. 

thesis topics for water resources engineering

8. Design of Hydraulic Structures, Analyses of Hydrosystems, Safety Assessment

CEITech Blog

Classroom Program

Open Faculty Positions

RE/TE Status Check

Offered Courses

Virtual Tour in K1 Building

Student Excuses

Yellow Vehicle Stickers

Brown Vehicle Stickers

Undergraduate Students Regulations

Graduate Students Regulations

Department of Civil Engineering, K1 Building, Üniversiteler Mah. Dumlupınar Blv. No:1, 06800 Çankaya/Ankara © ORTA DOĞU TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ ANKARA KAMPUSU

Penn State    |    College of Engineering

Penn State Civil & Environmental Engineering

Search this site Search Penn State Search PSU People Search PSU Depts. Web

  • Research Areas
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Geotechnical and Materials Engineering
  • Structural Engineering and Mechanics
  • Transportation Engineering
  • Water Resources Engineering
  • Facilities and Labs
  • Research Facilities
  • Research Centers and Units
  • Faculty Mentoring
  • College-level Communications Resources
  • Primary Faculty
  • External Graduate Faculty
  • Emeritus Faculty
  • Complete Staff
  • Administration
  • Undergraduate
  • Prospective Students
  • Majors, Minors, and Certificates
  • Scholarships & Financial Aid
  • Sample Academic Plan
  • Online Summer Courses
  • Research Opportunities
  • Study Abroad
  • Undergraduate Handbook
  • Degrees and Requirements
  • Course Information
  • Fellowships and Funding
  • Graduate Handbook
  • Graduate Life
  • How to Apply
  • Career Resources
  • Academic Calendar
  • Student Organizations
  • Mentoring Programs
  • Accreditation
  • Computing Policy
  • Life in Happy Valley
  • Thomas C. Kavanagh Memorial Structural Engineering Lecture
  • Quick Links
  • Why Penn State?
  • Graduate Programs
  • One-Year Master's Program
  • Facts & Figures
  • Capstone Design Projects
  • CEM Program
  • Employer Relations
  • Internships and Co-ops
  • Diversity Programs
  • Giving Opportunities
  • Educational Opportunities
  • Sponsorships
  • Continuing Education
  • IP Policies
  • Partner with Us!
  • Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Society
  • Penn State Engineering Alumni Society
  • Penn State Alumni Association
  • Alumni Updates
  • Department Newsletter
  • College Newsletter
  • Recognitions
  • College Alumni Awards
  • University Alumni Awards
  • Update your Information
  • Get Involved!

Water Resources Engineering and Science

Water Resources is a sub-discipline of civil and environmental engineering. All graduate students interested in water resources engineering and science should apply to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Water resources engineering and science includes:

  • Hydraulic engineering
  • Hydrology and all sub-disciplines
  • Data science and machine learning 
  • Water resources systems analysis
  • Sediment transport and geomorphology
  • Environmental fluid mechanics
  • Stormwater management
  • Climate adaptation and decision-making under uncertainty
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Human dimensions of engineering and infrastructure resilience 
  • Water governance, policy, ethics, and equity

Common to all of these areas of study is the goal of understanding the biophysical, technical, and social processes responsible for the distribution and management of water in natural and engineered environments. In a world of ever-increasing connectivity and accelerated change, our relationships with the water environment surrounding us are of increasing significance. Our graduates tackle challenges associated with the analysis, design and optimization of hydraulic structures and nature-based and engineered water infrastructure, and to manage, preserve and enhance water resources in natural and engineered environments across temporal and spatial scales, from rivers and watersheds to continents and the entire planet.  

Research in the water resources engineering and science group covers a wide range of topics and uses a wide range of methodologies, including theoretical, experimental (lab and field), empirical, and computational. Detailed descriptions of research projects are available on individual faculty members' websites. A short description is included below for reference.

Roberto Fernández :  Dr. Fernández’s research focuses on ways in which flowing water interacts with the built environment and shapes the landscapes around us, specifically focusing on erosion. Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Fernández worked as a Leverhulme Research Fellow at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom.  

Christine Kirchhoff:    Dr. Kirchhoff’s research focuses on environmental decision making, the human dimensions of infrastructure resilience, and water governance. With honors that include a National Science Foundation CAREER award, she is a contributing author to chapter six of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II Sixth Assessment Report—Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure . Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Kirchhoff was the Castleman Professor of Engineering Innovation and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Kirchhoff is a joint hire with the School of Engineering Design and Innovation.

Xiaofeng Liu :    Dr. Liu’s research interest includes physics-based and data-driven modeling for environmental hydraulics. His group specializes in the development and utilization of computational models for problems in environmental and water resource engineering. Example research projects include flow and scour modeling around riverine and coastal structures, river restoration, water quality modeling, and fish passage design. 

Lauren McPhillips:  Dr. McPhillips’ research primarily explores hydrology and biogeochemistry in landscapes with substantial human manipulation, often urban and suburban landscapes. McPhillips is particularly interested in ecological engineering solutions, such as green stormwater infrastructure, that can help preserve or restore environmental integrity. The McPhillips research group leverage s a variety of methods, primarily lab and field approaches, as well as geospatial investigations, data synthesis, and some modeling.

Alfonso Mejía:   The Mejía research group is aimed at understanding the spatial and temporal interactions between water systems (watersheds, stormwater networks, reservoirs, levees, etc.) and other Earth (atmosphere, ecosystems, etc.) and human (cities, supply chains, crops, etc.) systems, using interdisciplinary methods and diverse data sources and models. The group is specifically interested in uncovering the emergent principles and rules behind these interactions and using those to help inform engineering policy and practice. 

Cibin Raj: Our group focuses on computational ecohydrology. Research program integrates biophysical modeling, machine learning, optimization tools, and field research to improve the understanding of nutrient dynamics in watershed systems, quantifying ecohydrological impacts of climate and land use change, and developing environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and climate-resilient agricultural and urban systems with minimal impact on natural resources.

Chaopeng Shen:  The Shen Multi- scale Hydrology, Processes, and Intelligence Group (MHPI) focuses on advancing fundamental understanding of the interactions between hydrology and other subsystems (e.g., ecosystem, energy and carbon cycles, solid earth and channels). Water scarcity and excess create varied conflicts and competitions in different parts of the world, and drastic changes in the water cycle put stress on natural and societal systems. Importantly, the changes in water states and flows are a significant driver for changes in other systems. The group strive s to provide sound physical science, produced by data, data-driven and process-based models, to support decision-making across multiple scales, from catchment to global scales. The fundamental understanding of the hydrologic cycle, after decades of research, still remains much to be improved. The group strive s to identify commonalities and learn underlying principles. P rimary methods include (1) state-of-the-art machine learning (ML); and (2) physics-ML integration. The former through mining land-based and remotely sensed data, helps to efficiently generate hypotheses about how the system functions, while the latter allows the group to conduct experiments. Recently, we have focused on DL-based prediction of soil moisture, streamflow, landslides, and other variables. The DL has also manifested refreshingly strong predictive capability for many applications. To learn more about the integration of deep learning in water-related fields , read Dr. Shen’s   argument ,  review , and  opinions.

The Penn State Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, established in 1881, is internationally recognized for excellence in the preparation of undergraduate and graduate engineers through the integration of education, research, and leadership.

  • Privacy and Legal Statements
  • Accessibility
  • University Hotlines
  • Email Webmaster

facebook icon

Penn State University

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

208 Engineering Collaborative Research and Education (ECoRE) Building 

556 White Course Dr 

University Park, PA 16802-1408

Phone: 814-863-3084

Penn State Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Google Custom Search

Wir verwenden Google für unsere Suche. Mit Klick auf „Suche aktivieren“ aktivieren Sie das Suchfeld und akzeptieren die Nutzungsbedingungen.

Hinweise zum Einsatz der Google Suche

Technical University of Munich

  • Chair of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering
  • TUM School of Engineering and Design
  • Technical University of Munich

Technical University of Munich

Bachelor & Master Theses and Study Projects

Dear students!

this page introduces the different fields of research at the chair and possible topics for students theses. We kindly ask you to inform yourself on the topics and if you are interested contact the person stated below each topic.

We hope to see you soon!

Master's Thesis

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Study Project

thesis topics for water resources engineering

  • Research and Innovation
  • News and events
  • Water Engineering and Development Centre
  • University home

Publications and Resources

  • Publications – in print and online

Dissertations

The dissertations listed here are a sample selection from those produced by students of WEDC MSc programmes.

  • DRAKEFORD, KATY  :  Climate resilient WASH in rural communities in Fiji
  • ILUNGA, REBECCA  :  Fluid African Cities – bottom-up adaptive decision-support for resilient urban water security
  • LLORENTE, OSCAR  :  A framework of action for household water treatment and safe storage interventions run by Red Cross and Red Crescent Emergency Response Unit (ERU) in emergencies
  • EVANS, LUKE : Barriers to effective solid waste management in Pacific Island countries
  • MACK, PHOEBE :  Navigating towards more sustainable outcomes in the Kiribati water, sanitation and hygiene sector
  • PITTS, JAKE :  Infant and young child feces management (IYCFM) and caretaker hygiene in displacement South Sudanese in Uganda, Rhino Camp Settlement. ‌
  • BONHAM-COZENS, JACK : Technical feasibility framework for sand dams applied to Eastern Chad
  • DEWHURST, RICHARD : The required conditions and success criteria for container-based sanitation viability and the potential for implementation in Kathmandu, Nepal
  • HIRST, DAVID : Review of alternative operation and maintenance (O&M) management models for rural water supplies in Uganda, focusing on hand pump mechanic associations (HPMAs)
  • NEL, GEORGE : Appropriate technology selection for sewae treatment in the rural eastern Cape
  • VIDAL, JEANNE : WASH and vulnerabilities: Addressing the needs of displaced women in the European migrant situation
  • BARNES, JHANELLE  : Sweet wastewater Irrigating sugarcane with soapberry effluent - Rio Cobre, Jamaica
  • CILLIERS, JEANETTE :  Developing standard wash practitioner competencies
  • FERNANDEZ-MARTINEZ, LARA :  Using the shit/excreta flow diagrams (SFDs) for modelling future scenarios in Kumasi, Ghana  ‌
  • IFILL, SHERVON :  Faecal sludge emptying services in Trinidad ‌ ‌
  • McMANMON, TOMMY :  Sanitation technology transfer - from UK festivals to migrant camps in Greece ‌ ‌ ‌
  • MIZUTANI, DOUGLAS :  Sustainable options for desalination - A look into renewable energies and brine disposal ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
  • ANGWEC, CATHERINE :  Cost recovery for piped rural water supply systems in developing countries - case studies from Kenya Rwanda and Uganda
  • MENA, RUBIS :  Meeting gender and menstral hygiene needs in MSF-OCA health structures
  • NEDJOH, JOHN :  Review of sustainability of small towns piped water services in Ghana ‌
  • ALVAREZ, SALA :  Climate change adaptation in the water and sanitation sector in Vietnam
  • BRADY, CHRISTOPHER :  Evaluation of the Indian Health Service Sanitation Facilities Construction Program
  • LEHOT, LAURENT : Investigation of the use of multi-sectoral integration by NGOs: a case study with Intermon Oxfam
  • SAHEKI, TAKESHIF : Water pricing in Zanzibar: effects of volumetric tariff on residential water consumption
  • SMITHERS, STEPHANIE :  Disposal of wastewater from cholera treatment centres  ‌
  • AMEKUDZIE, SELASI : Analysing water, sanitation and hygiene data to guide sector resource allocation - a case study of Ghana
  • CLARKE, GARY : Clay, conductivity and rural water supplies
  • DWAN, PETER :  The Sustainability of CLTS in WaterAids programme in Timor Leste 
  • FROST, SIAN : Institutional management of surface water in England and Wales
  • KOHLITZ, JEREMY : Water quality management for domestic rainwater harvesting systems in Fiji
  • WICKEN, JAMES ‌ :  Effectiveness of a Sanitation Marketing approach in rural PNG - The ATProjects Round Loo Programme 
  • BURT, MURRAY :  Evaluation of demand led biosand filter programme in complex emergency context of Afghanistan
  • CHEGKAZI, KATERINA : Three-Pot household water treatment system - testing the effectiveness
  • DUBE, ADDISE AMADO :  Rethinking sustainable latrine use through human behaviour change and local capacity development
  • KELLER, MIRCO ‌ : Situation analysis and recommendations for an improved wastewater disposal system at Saint Francis Hospital in Zambia
  • MELLONI, Gian ‌ : Arsenic in drinking water and governance issues - a case study from Italy
  • MORGAN, NED : What happens after Cholera? An examination of the transition from relief to development - a collective case study in Uganda
  • BARAKZAI, SHIRIIN :  Inclusive primary education in Tanzania - the role of accessible sanitation
  • CURD, NATALIE :  Energy and development in developing countries
  • FENG, LIN :  The impact and monitoring of sanitation and hygiene interventions in child survival and development in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • HOPKINS, JOSEPH :  Piloting a methodology to understand waste reduction behaviour in Charnwood
  • KAPPAUF, LEONIE :  Opportunities and constraints for more sustainable sanitation through sanitation marketing in Malawi - case study from Mzimba and Lilongwe Districts ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
  • RAMLAGAN, KAYLASS :  Cost and energy implications of leakage in water distribution networks in Co Galway
  • SATTLER, KLAUS : Delegated water supply management - case studies from Lilongwe and Blantyre 
  • WESTWELL, CHRISTOPHER  :  Fires in informal settlements in India and The Philippines
  • ADEKILE, ADEDOTUN :  Assessing potential of low-cost drilling in meeting MDGs for water supply in Nigeria
  • CASTLE, THOMAS :  High quality manual butt fusion joints using low cost pipe alignment technology
  • CROFTS, TRACEY :  Will they cotton on an investigation into schoolgirls use of low-cost sanitary pads in Uganda ‌
  • DOMINGUEZ-RIVERA, ISABEL :  Balancing consumption and availability in a multiple uses of water system
  • SAF, SOREN :  Household biogas systems in low-income rural regions
  • School Home

Education and Training

  • MSc programmes
  • Levels of learning  
  • Flexible study
  • Scholarships  
  • How to apply  
  • Accreditation  
  • Why study with WEDC
  • What our students say
  • Semester dates
  • Module specifications
  • Module Booking Forms
  • Study Guide
  • Short courses for groups
  • Postgraduate research (MPhil/PhD)
  • Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)
  • Water Quality, Security and Environmental Engineering
  • Hazards, Risk and Resilience
  • Hydrodynamics and Hydraulics
  • Journal papers
  • Books and manuals
  • Illustrations and graphics
  • Guides and fact sheets
  • Videos and animations

International Conferences

  • 43rd WEDC International Conference: forthcoming
  • 42nd WEDC International Conference
  • Previous International Conferences
  • Database of Conference Papers

Contact WEDC

Connect with us.

thesis topics for water resources engineering

© 2023 Loughborough University. All rights reserved.

Digital Commons @ University of South Florida

  • USF Research
  • USF Libraries

Digital Commons @ USF > College of Engineering > Civil and Environmental Engineering > Theses and Dissertations

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Theses/dissertations from 2024 2024.

Advancing Depth-Storage-Discharge Modeling in Regional Hydrology , Fahad Alshehri

An Analysis of Driven Pile Relaxation in Florida Soils , Dalton E. Knowles

Nutrient Removal of Biochar Amended Modified Bioretention Systems Treating Nursery Runoff , Nicholas Richardson

Dissolved Nitrogen Removal in Biochar Amended, High Permeability Media for Urban Stormwater Treatment , Mark Vicciardo

Theses/Dissertations from 2023 2023

The Influence of Corrosion Mitigating Fluids on Post Tensioned Tendon Grout Properties and Steel to Grout Bond Strength , Sarita Ale Magar

Exploring Alternative Electron Donors for Heterotrophic Denitrification at a Water Reclamation Facility in Tampa Bay , Tejas Athavale

Mechanisms Contributing to Hydrogen-Influenced Early Failure of Bridge Tendons , David Dukeman

The Influence of Bipolar Electrochemical Cell Geometry on the Studies of Pitting Corrosion , Amin Kazem Ghamsari

Peak and Differential Temperature Determination of Drilled Shafts , Amanda A. Lewis

Field-Base Exploratory Study of Microbial Activity in Eight Potable Water Storage Tanks in Barbados , Katelyn M. Long

Land Use/Land Cover Uncertainty Analysis Using Hydrological Modeling in the Northern Watershed of Lake Okeechobee , Andres Lora Santos

Modeling Leachate Treatment Processes in Adsorbent-amended Hybrid Constructed Wetland , Ishfaqun Nisa

Effects of Downdrag on Pile Performance , Ruthvik Pendyala

Anaerobic Digestion of Brewery Waste Including Spent Yeast and Hops , Dhanashree Rawalgaonkar

Characteristics and Hydraulic Behavior of Adsorptive Media for Use in Permeable Reactive Barriers , Shelby Rocha

Exploratory Data-Driven Models for Water Quality: A Case Study for Tampa Bay Water , Sandra Sekyere

Interdependency between Water and Road Infrastructures: Cases and Impacts , Shihab Uddin

Hurricanes and Tropical Storms’ Impact on Water Quality in Lake Okeechobee, Florida , Daniela Vasquez Diaz

Exploration of Shared Passenger Urban Air Mobility – Integrated Network Design, Operation Scheduling and System Configuration , Zhiqiang Wu

Rehabilitation Technologies to Abate Infiltration in Sanitary Sewers , Steve Youssef

Adsorption of Long and Short Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) onto Granular Activated Carbon and Porous Organic Polymers , Yan Zhang

Adiabatic Temperature Rise and Durability Performance of Slag Blended Concrete , Hai Zhu

Theses/Dissertations from 2022 2022

Statistical Models of Traffic Injury Severities: The Effects of Driver Nationality and the Time-of-Day on Pedestrian Injuries , Asim Alogaili

Effects of Downdrag on Pile Performance , Malaak Omelia Araujo

Quantifying a 21-year Surface Water and Groundwater Interaction in a Ridge and Valley Lake Environment Using a Highly Constrained Modeling Approach , Richard T. Bowers Jr.

A Convergent Approach to Aqueous Lead (Pb) Mitigation of a Supplemental Self-Supply Shallow Groundwater Source Accessed by Handpumps in Madagascar , Adaline Marie Buerck

Identifying Significant Factors Affecting the Likelihood and Severity Level of Shared E-scooter Crashes , Recep Can Cakici

Evaluation of Aluminum Dissolution, Current Density, and Pitting Patterns During Electrocoagulation , Monica Castro Carias

Carbon Diversion, Partial Nitritation/Anammox Enrichment, and Ammonium Capture as Initial Stages for Mainstream Ion Exchange-Deammonification Process , Sheyla Chero-Osorio

Elemental Sulfur and Metal Sulfide Minerals for Autotrophic Denitrification: Applications to Aquaculture, Groundwater Treatment, and Domestic Wastewater Treatment , Erica Amah Dasi

A Physically Constrained Wavelet-Aided Statistical Model (PCWASM) for Multidecadal Groundwater Dynamics Predictions and Climate Change Evaluation , Fatih Gordu

Data Driven Approaches for Understanding and Improving Urban Mobility , Yujie Guo

Onsite Water Reuse: Fate of Indicator Bacteria, Antibiotic Resistant Genes, Environmental Impacts, and User Perceptions , Michelle B. Henderson

Assessment of Scoured Bridges Subjected to Vessel Impact Using Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis , Amir S. Irhayyim

Assessment and Prevention of Bacterial Regrowth in Stored Household Water in Eastern Coastal Madagascar , Lauren Judah

Development of Membrane Assisted Recovery of Solids (MARS) Technology for Nutrient Management in Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems , Itzé Alejandra Kenney

Evaluation of Hydrodynamic Effects of Waterway Restoration on an Estuarine Ecosystem , Megan Kramer

The Impact of Land Use Change on Hydrology Using Hydrologic Modelling and Geographical Information System (GIS) , Nattachan Luesaksiriwattana

Simulating Flood Control in Progress Village, Florida Using Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) , Azize Minaz

Chlorine Taste Threshold and Acceptability as a Water Disinfectant Among Indigenous Ngäbe and Non-Indigenous in Rural Panama , Ashley Osler

Coral Reef Restoration Monitoring Through an Environmental Engineering and Social-Ecological Lens , Michelle C. Platz

Effects of Slurry Type on Drilled Shaft Strength , Cesar Quesada Garcia

Designing Control Strategies for Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) at Transportation Conflict Areas , Saeid Soleimaniamiri

Comparison Study of Consumer’s Perception toward Urban Air Mobility in the United States and Rest of the World Using Social Media Information , S M Toki Tahmid

Airspace Design and Strategic Deconfliction for Urban Air Mobility , Hualong Tang

Optimizing Lake Okeechobee Watershed Management and Reservoir Operations for Water Quality Improvement , Osama Mahrous Mossad Tarabih

Advanced Methods for Railroad Station Operation Decisions: Data Analytics, Optimization, Automation , Yuan Wang

High-Risk Traffic Crash Pattern Recognition and Identification Using Econometric Models and Machine Learning Models , Runan Yang

Biochar Amended Biological Systems for Enhanced Landfill Leachate and Lignocellulosic Banana Waste Treatment , Xia Yang

Passive Radiative Cooling by Spectrally Selective Nanoparticles in Thick Film Nanocomposites , David Allen Young

Theses/Dissertations from 2021 2021

A System Architecture for Water Distribution Networks , Noha Abdel-Mottaleb

Sustainability Assessment of a Pressure Retarded Osmosis System , Samar Al Mashrafi

Health Risk Assessment of Local Populations Ingesting Water with Naturally Occurring Arsenic and Fecal Related Contaminants in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala , Marisol Alvarez

Influence of Coating Defects Within the Lock Seams on the Corrosion Performance of Aluminized Steel Drainage Pipes , Mohammed Al Yaarubi

Longitudinal Trajectory Tracking Analysis for Autonomous Electric Vehicles Based on PID Control , Hossein Amiri

An Assessment and Exploration of Recent Methodological Advances in Safety Data Analysis , Suryaprasanna Kumar Balusu

Pressure Retarded Osmosis: A Potential Technology for Seawater Desalination Energy Recovery and Concentrate Management , Joshua Benjamin

Assessing the Feasibility of Microbially Managed Biological Filtration in U.S. Drinking Water Systems for Removal of Contaminants of Emerging Concern , Andrew J. Black

The Effect of Cement and Blast Furnace Slag Characteristics on Expansion of Heat-Cured Mortar Specimens , Jair G. Burgos

A Systems Approach for Improving the Performance of Rural Community-Managed Water Systems Using SIASAR: Case Studies in Bolivia and Colombia , Rachel A. Cannon

Passive Nitrifying Biofilters for Onsite Treatment of Saline Domestic Wastewater , Daniel Arnulfo Delgado

Plastic Pollution in Urban Rivers: Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Plastic Release and Transport , Charlotte Juliane Haberstroh

Effects of Nitrate on Arsenic Mobilization during Aquifer Storage and Recovery , Hania Hawasli

Prediction of the Effects of Turbulence on Vehicle Hydroplaning using a Numerical Model , Thathsarani Dilini Herath Herath Mudiyanselage

Shortcut Nitrogen Removal in Photo-sequencing Batch Reactor, Experiments, Dynamic Model and Full-scale Design , Sahand Iman Shayan

Chorine Conversion: Biological and Water Quality Impact on Activated Carbon Block Point of Use Filters , Horace S. Jakpa

Efficient Management of Nitrogen and Phosphorus at Centralized Water Reclamation Facilities , Helene Kassouf

Building and Characterizing a Lab-Scaled Aquifer Storage and Recovery System , Murat Can Kayabas

Corrosion Rate Prediction in FRP-Concrete Repair , Mohammad A. Khawaja

Use of Biochar and Zeolite for Landfill Leachate Treatment: Experimental Studies and Reuse Potential Assessment , Thanh Thieu Lam

Feasibility of Epoxy Bond Enhancement on High-Strength Concrete , Amanda A. Lewis

Trajectory Optimization for Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Platooning and Split Operations: Modeling and Experiments , Qianwen Li

Leaf Cutter Ant Nest Soil Cement Stabilized Earthen Bricks: Materials and Methods for Engineering Field Applications , Faith Malay

Minimum Cut-Sets for the Identification of Critical Water Distribution Network Segments , Xiliang Mao

An Assessment of Nutrient Improvement in Surface Water Due to the Conversion of Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems to Sewerage , Jenelle A. Mohammed

Development of a Numerical Process Model for Adsorbent-amended Constructed Wetlands , Lillian Mulligan

Corrosion Propagation of Stainless Steel Reinforced Concrete , Nelly Sofía Orozco Martínez

Corrosion Durability Service Life of Calcium Silicate-Based Reinforced Concrete , Carolina Páez Jiménez

Assessment of the Environmental Sustainability of a Small Water Production Facility in Madagascar , Jesal Patel

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis of the Hydraulic Performance and Bio-kinetics in a Full-Scale Oxidation Ditch , Kiesha C. Pierre

Biochar Amended Bioretention Systems for Nutrient and Fecal Indicator Bacteria Removal from Urban and Agricultural Runoffs , Md Yeasir Arif Rahman

Understanding the Leaching Mechanism for Lead (Pb) Found in Components of Locally Manufactured Handpumps in Eastern Madagascar , Nidhi Shah

Impacts of Automated Vehicle Technologies on Future Traffic , Xiaowei Shi

Community Assessment of Water Perceptions and Household Point-of-Use Treatment Methods in Madagascar , Isabella Rose Silverman

Laboratory Examination of Lead Weights Harvested from Pitcher Pumps in Eastern Madagascar , Madelyn Wilson

Impact of grain morphology on the temporal evolution of interfacial area during multi-phase flow in porous media , Fizza Zahid

EAV Fleet Management in Transportation and Power Systems , Dongfang Zhao

Theses/Dissertations from 2020 2020

A Framework for Assessing the Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) of Decentralized Sanitation , Adefunké Adeosun

Development of an Organic Processor Assembly (OPA) for Sustainable Resource Recovery to Enable Long-Duration, Deep-Space Human Exploration (LoDDSHE) , Talon James Bullard

Black Lives Matter in Engineering, Too! An Environmental Justice Approach towards Equitable Decision-Making for Stormwater Management in African American Communities , Maya Elizabeth Carrasquillo

Coral Reef Restoration in the Tropical West Atlantic Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic , Linden Cheek

Designing Next-generation Transportation Systems with Emerging Vehicle Technologies , Zhiwei Chen

Strength Restoration of Corrosion Damaged Piles Repaired with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Systems , Jethro Clarke

Water Quality and Sustainability Assessment of Rural Water Systems in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama , Corbyn Cools

Rapid Cross-Section Imaging with Magnetic and Impedance Sensors for Grout Anomaly Detection in External Post-Tensioned Tendons , Hani Freij

Enhanced Nitrogen, Organic Matter and Color Removal from Landfill Leachate by Biological Treatment Processes with Biochar and Zeolite , Bisheng Gao

Bond Life of Structural Epoxy-Concrete Systems Under Accelerated Hygrothermal Aging , Philip W. Hopkins

Socio-Technical Transitions in the Water Sector: Emerging Boundaries for Utility Resilience in Barbados , Wainella N. Isaacs

Structural and Agricultural Value at Risk in Florida from Flooding during Hurricane Irma , Alexander J. Miller

An Inferential Study of the Potential Consumer Value of Free Charging for Users of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure , Divyamitra Mishra

Advanced Search

  • Email Notifications and RSS
  • All Collections
  • USF Faculty Publications
  • Open Access Journals
  • Conferences and Events
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Textbooks Collection

Useful Links

  • Rights Information
  • SelectedWorks
  • Submit Research

Home | About | Help | My Account | Accessibility Statement | Language and Diversity Statements

Privacy Copyright

Dissertation Writing Help Logo

Explore Current and Emerging Water Engineering Research Topics

Get full help in disseration with 50% off.

Dissertation Dissertation Topics Dissertation-Abstract Dissertation Proposal Dissertation- Analysis Chapter Dissertation- Conclusion Chapter Dissertation- Introduction Chapter Dissertation- Literature Review Chapter Dissertation- Methodology Chapter Dissertation Editing and Proof Reading Essay Admission Essay Scholarship Essay Case Study Annotated Bibliography Assignment Book Report/Review Case Analysis Course Work Information and Communication/ Computer Technology Reaction Paper Research Paper Research Proposal Statistics Project Term Paper Thesis Thesis Proposal Laboratory Report Movie Review Multiple Choice Questions Power Point Presentation Article Speech Other

  • Engineering Dissertation Topics >
  • Water Engineering Research Topics >

Free Water Engineering Research Topics for High Grades!

Water is an essential resource for life and is used in a variety of human activities. Water engineering is becoming increasingly important as we address issues such as pollution, scarcity, and effective water use. Water engineering specialists must explore into new research sectors to meet these serious concerns. We can offer you a diverse range of intriguing water engineering research topics , from basic concepts to specialized thesis topics

Order Your Water Resources Thesis Topics with Expert Assistance

The water resources engineering research topics emphasize on practical water executives, such as improving distribution organizations, further increasing water quality, and mitigating the effects of environmental change on water assets.

Before we go on to our collection of research topics in the water resources engineering , we will discuss the top two areas of this vast subject.

Research On Water Quality and Treatment

This discipline’s primary job in water engineering thesis topics is to explore long-distance water supply the board ways. Topics may include coordinated water asset planning, neighborhood-based security attempts, and the development of competent water circulation organizations to ensure equal access and biological safeguarding.

Water Management and Conservation Research

Our experts picked these topics for your water thesis topics because it focuses on water quality and deals with pollution and cleansing difficulties. Potential review topics include high-level wastewater treatment improvements, the impact of emerging toxins on water biological systems, and the enhancement of progressive innovation to ensure networks have safe and clean drinking water.

Get An Immediate Response

Discuss your requirments with our writers

Get Free Customize Topics Now!

Select Your Academic Level Undergraduate Masters PhD Other

Best and Updated Water Resources Thesis Topics

Find a curated breakdown of major water resources engineering thesis topics PDF , which gives an inside look at the most recent developments and critical evaluation areas.

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Bachelors Water Conservation in Agriculture

Topics
Practices for Sustainable Water Management in Cities
Climate Change’s Impact on Water Resources
Water Quality Evaluation in Rural Communities
Rainwater Harvesting System Installation
Water Distribution Network Optimization
Wetlands’ Role in Natural Water Filtration
Small-Scale Irrigation Techniques Evaluation
Community-Based Water Conservation Initiatives
Groundwater Contamination Analysis in Agricultural Areas
Water Conservation in Agriculture
River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management
Advanced Wastewater Treatment Techniques
Urban Water System Modeling and Simulation
Policy Analysis for Long-Term Water Governance
Water Resource Monitoring Using Remote Sensing
Strategies for Urban Stormwater Management
Emerging Drinking Water Contaminants
Planning Water Infrastructure Decision Support Systems
Ecohydrology and Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration
Interactions and Trade-offs in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus
Uncertainty Quantification in Hydrological Models
Assessing the Impacts of Land Use Change on Watersheds
Adaptive Governance for Resilient Water Systems
Advanced Membrane Water Purification Technologies
Dynamics of Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions
Using Multi-Objective Optimization in Water Resource Planning
Novel Sensors for Real-time Water Quality Monitoring Based on Social-Ecological Systems
Analysis in Water Management
Eco-hydrological Watershed Process Modeling

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Subscribe To Download

Fill out the below form you will received your e-book on your email address.

Error: Contact form not found.

Disclaimer: Kindly note that the work we provide is not the final version, it is research based work which you have to incorporate and edit according to your university requirements.

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Advances in Water Resources Engineering and Management

Select Proceedings of TRACE 2018

  • Conference proceedings
  • © 2020
  • Rafid AlKhaddar 0 ,
  • Ram Karan Singh 1 ,
  • Subashisa Dutta 2 ,
  • Madhuri Kumari 3

Department of Civil Engineering, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia

Indian institute of technology guwahati, guwahati, india, department of civil engineering, amity school of engineering and technology, amity university uttar pradesh, noida, india.

  • Covers latest research findings in water resource management, irrigation systems, and water pollution and treatment
  • Provides solutions to water engineering and hydro environmental engineering problems using latest technologies
  • Discusses recent challenges encountered in water management and climate change impacts on water resources

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering (LNCE, volume 39)

Included in the following conference series:

  • TRACE: International Conference on Trends and Recent Advances in Civil Engineering

Conference proceedings info: TRACE 2018.

14k Accesses

148 Citations

2 Altmetric

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Subscribe and save.

  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
  • Durable hardcover edition

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

About this book

Similar content being viewed by others.

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Book Reviews: Natural Resources

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Major Water Engineering Projects: Definitions, Framework Conditions, Systemic Effects

thesis topics for water resources engineering

Introduction to the “Quality of Water Resources in Poland”

  • Hydro-environment
  • Hydro-informatics
  • Integrated water resource management
  • Climate change
  • Remote sensing and GIS applications
  • remote sensing/photogrammetry

Table of contents (19 papers)

Front matter, performance evaluation of five penman forms of models by means of lysimetric evapotranspiration under water stress environments at new delhi, india.

  • Ram Karan Singh, Javed Mallick, P. S. Pawar

A Methodology to Measure Flow Fields at Bridge Piers in the Presence of Large Wood Debris Accumulation Using Acoustic Doppler Velocimeters

  • Iacopo Carnacina, Aleksandra Lescova, Stefano Pagliara

Real-Time Reservoir Operation Policy: A Case Study of Tanahu Hydropower Project

  • Bhola N. S. Ghimire, Rabindra Nath Shrestha, Upendra Dev Bhatta

Nexus of Water Footprint with Energy and GDP of Saudi Arabia and Solution for Sustainable Water Usage

  • Vineet Tirth

Statistical Parameters of Hydrometeorological Variables: Standard Deviation, SNR, Skewness and Kurtosis

  • Chetan Sharma, C. S. P. Ojha

A New Approach to Analyze the Water Surface Profile Over the Trench Weir

  • Swati Bhave, Sanjeev Kumar

Soil Loss Assessment in Imphal River Watershed, Manipur, North-East India: A Spatio-Temporal Approach

  • Loukrakpam Chandramani, Bakimchandra Oinam

Analysis of the Extreme Rainfall Events Over Upper Catchment of Sabarmati River Basin in Western India Using Extreme Precipitation Indices

  • Shivam Gupta, Ankit Gupta, Sushil K. Himanshu, Ronald Singh

Rainfall Runoff Modelling of Urban Area Using HEC-HMS: A Case Study of Hyderabad City

  • Vinay Ashok Rangari, V. Sridhar, N. V. Umamahesh, Ajey Kumar Patel

Hydrodynamic Simulation of River Ambica for Riverbed Assessment: A Case Study of Navsari Region

  • Darshan Jayeshbhai Mehta, Sanjay Madhusudan Yadav

Evaluation of the SWAT Model for Analysing the Water Balance Components for the Upper Sabarmati Basin

  • Ankit Gupta, Sushil K. Himanshu, Shivam Gupta, Ronald Singh

Rainfall-Runoff Modelling and Simulation Using Remote Sensing and Hydrological Model for Banas River, Gujarat, India

  • Anant Patel

GIS-Based Morphometric Analysis and Prioritization of Upper Ravi Catchment, Himachal Pradesh, India

  • D. Khurana, S. S. Rawat, G. Raina, R. Sharma, P. G. Jose

Estimation of Domestic Water Demand and Supply Using System Dynamics Approach

  • Bharti Chawre

Sustainable Development and Management of Groundwater in Varanasi, India

  • Padam Jee Omar, S. B. Dwivedi, P. K. S. Dikshit

Applications of GIS in Management of Water Resources to Attain Zero Hunger

  • Ashita Sharma, Manish Kumar, Nitasha Hasteer

Electrocoagulation as an Eco-Friendly River Water Treatment Method

  • Khalid S. Hashim, Rafid AlKhaddar, Andy Shaw, P. Kot, Dhiya Al-Jumeily, Reham Alwash et al.

Wetland Dynamics Using Geo-Spatial Technology

  • Nilendu Das, Anurag Ohri, Ashwani Kumar Agnihotri, Padam Jee Omar, Sachin Mishra

Inland Waterway as an Alternative and Sustainable Transport in Kuttanad Region of Kerala, India

  • Madhuri Kumari, Sarath Syamaprasad, Sushmit Das

Editors and Affiliations

Rafid AlKhaddar

Ram Karan Singh

Subashisa Dutta

Madhuri Kumari

About the editors

Dr. Rafid AlKhaddar  has extensive experience in Water and Environmental Engineering, with special expertise in wastewater treatment methods.  He graduated from the University of Basra, Iraq as a civil engineer, and obtained his Masters and PhD in Civil Engineering Hydraulics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. He is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at Liverpool John Moores University where he manages 27 staff and over 780 students, who are enrolled in various courses such as HNC, BEng, MEng, MSc and PhD. He has maintained a very strong link with the UK Water and Environmental industry in order to stay involved with any new developments in the aforementioned fields. He was the President of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) in 2015-16. He is also a Fellow of the Institution and an Honorary Vice President of the Institution. He has published over 160 articles in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences. 

Dr. Ram Karan Singh  is Professor of Civil Engineering in King Khalid University, Abha City, Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia. He has over 28 years of teaching, research and administrative experience in top institutions and universities in India and abroad. He completed his B.E.(Hons.) Civil Engineering, M.E. in Civil Engineering (with specialization in Hydraulics Engineering), and PhD in the area of hydraulics and water resources engineering from  BITS-Pilani, Pilani, India. He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japanese Government from 2002-2004 to carry out “Diffuse pollution modeling of water environment of Japanese low land watersheds” at the Department of Hydraulics Engineering, NIRE, Tsukuba Science City, Japan. He has published over 150 research papers, four books and also supervised 10 PhD thesis. He is a recipient of several national and international awards and fellow of various professional societies in his area of work.

Dr. Subashisa Dutta  received his Ph.D in Computational Hydraulics from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. He completed his Master's in Irrigation and Hydraulics Engineering and Bachelor's in Civil Engineering from Sambalpur University. Currently, he is Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Guwahati. He has worked at the Scientist Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad prior to joining IIT Guwahati. His major research interests are hill-slope hydrology, distributed hydrological modeling, flood inundation modeling, geo-spatial technology, 2D river flow, sediment transport modeling, river bank protection and stormwater drainage design. He is leading multiple research works by Inland Waterways Authority of India. He is also working on dam break analysis of hydroelectric projects in Assam, India. 

Dr. Madhuri Kumari  received her PhD from The Energy Resource Institute (TERI) for her work on geostatistical modeling for prediction of rainfall in the Indian Himalayas. She completed her Master's in Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University in 1999, and Bachelor's in Civil Engineering from Andhra University in 1997 and was recipient of Gold Medal. She is working as Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Noida, India. She has a vast industry experience of 11 years and an academic experience of 9 years. Her research works in the area of rainfall modeling have been published in reputed journals. Her research interests include application of geographical information system in solving problems related to water resources engineering.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title : Advances in Water Resources Engineering and Management

Book Subtitle : Select Proceedings of TRACE 2018

Editors : Rafid AlKhaddar, Ram Karan Singh, Subashisa Dutta, Madhuri Kumari

Series Title : Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8181-2

Publisher : Springer Singapore

eBook Packages : Engineering , Engineering (R0)

Copyright Information : Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

Hardcover ISBN : 978-981-13-8180-5 Published: 26 June 2019

Softcover ISBN : 978-981-13-8183-6 Published: 15 August 2020

eBook ISBN : 978-981-13-8181-2 Published: 26 June 2019

Series ISSN : 2366-2557

Series E-ISSN : 2366-2565

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : X, 257

Number of Illustrations : 21 b/w illustrations, 90 illustrations in colour

Topics : Geoengineering, Foundations, Hydraulics , Hydrology/Water Resources , Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry , Climatology

  • Publish with us

Policies and ethics

  • Find a journal
  • Track your research
  • My Shodhganga
  • Receive email updates
  • Edit Profile

Shodhganga : a reservoir of Indian theses @ INFLIBNET

  • Shodhganga@INFLIBNET
  • Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi
  • R V College of Engineering
Title: An Integrated Study of Water Resources Management on Water Scarcity and Drought for a River Basin
Researcher: J Harsha
Guide(s): 
Keywords: Engineering
Engineering and Technology
Engineering Civil
University: Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi
Completed Date: 2021
Abstract: Water resources management is inter-linked with diverse sectors such as land use/land cover, newlineagriculture, energy, environment and socio-economic conditions of the society. Indeed, the challenges newlineof water management are complex and vary from region to region and from one river basin to another. newlineAs a consequence, the solutions to such challenges cannot be determined by studies pertaining to newlineindividual sector/disciplines pursuing Silo approach. Hence, solutions to such challenges, that are newlineunique to a river basin, can only be determined through an integrated approach (Pegram et al., 2013) newlineand the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). IWRM is a flexible water newlinemanagement tool developed from the on-the-ground experience of practitioners. newline
Pagination: 
URI: 
Appears in Departments:
File Description SizeFormat 
Attached File728.45 kBAdobe PDF
734.23 kBAdobe PDF
1.45 MBAdobe PDF
1.05 MBAdobe PDF
565.33 kBAdobe PDF
686.06 kBAdobe PDF
1.34 MBAdobe PDF
1.28 MBAdobe PDF
3.25 MBAdobe PDF
1.48 MBAdobe PDF
1.73 MBAdobe PDF
2.51 MBAdobe PDF
1.22 MBAdobe PDF
488.1 kBAdobe PDF
433.77 kBAdobe PDF

Items in Shodhganga are licensed under Creative Commons Licence Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Shodhganga

National Academies Press: OpenBook

Confronting the Nation's Water Problems: The Role of Research (2004)

Chapter: 3 water resources research priorities for the future, 3 water resources research priorities for the future.

The pressing nature of water resource problems was set forth in Chapter 1 . The solution to these problems is necessarily sought in research—inquiry into the basic natural and societal processes that govern the components of a given problem, combined with inquiry into possible methods for solving these problems. In many fields, descriptions of research priorities structure the ways in which researchers match their expertise and experience to both societal needs and the availability of research funding. Statements of research priorities also evolve as knowledge is developed, questions are answered, and new societal issues and pressures emerge. Thus, the formulation of research priorities has a profound effect on the conduct of research and the likelihood of finding solutions to problems.

Statements of research priorities developed by a group of scientists or managers with a common perspective within their field of expertise can have a relatively narrow scope. Indeed, this phenomenon has resulted in numerous independent sets of research priorities for various aspects of water resources. This has come about because water plays an important role in a strikingly large number of disciplines, ranging from ecology to engineering and economics—disciplines that otherwise have little contact with each other. Thus, priority lists from ecologists emphasize ecosystem integrity, priority lists from water treatment professionals emphasize the quantity and quality of the water supply, and priority lists from hydrologists emphasize water budgets and hydrologic processes. In recent years, the limitations of discipline-based perspectives have become clear, as researchers and managers alike have recognized that water problems relevant to society necessarily integrate across the physical, chemical, biological, and social sciences. Narrowly conceived research produces inadequate solutions to such problems;

these in turn provide little useful guidance for management because critical parts of the system have been ignored. For example, the traditional subdivision of water resource issues into those of quality and quantity is now seen as inadequate to structure future research, given that water quality and quantity are intimately, causally, and mechanistically connected. Similarly, theoretical studies of water flows (hydrology) and aquatic ecosystems (limnology) can no longer be viewed as independent subjects, as each materially affects the other in myriad ways. Finally, the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of water cannot adequately be investigated without reference to the human imprint on all facets of the earth’s surface. Thus, the challenge in identifying water resources research needs is to engage researchers in novel collaborations and novel ways of perceiving the research topics that they have traditionally investigated.

Water resources research priorities were recently extensively considered by the Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) in Envisioning the Agenda for Water Resources Research in the Twenty-first Century (NRC, 2001a). This resulted in a detailed, comprehensive list of research needs, grouped into three categories ( Table 3-1 ); the reader is referred to NRC (2001a) for a detailed description of each research need. The category of water availability emphasizes the interrelated nature of water quantity and water quality problems and it recognizes the increasing pressures on water supply to provide for both human and ecosystem needs. The category of water use includes not only research questions about managing human consumptive and nonconsumptive use of water, but also about the use of water by aquatic ecosystems and endangered or threatened species. The third category, water institutions , emphasizes the need for research into the economic, social, and institutional forces that shape both the availability and use of water.

After review and reconsideration, the committee concluded that the priorities enumerated in the Envisioning report constitute the most comprehensive and current best statement of water resources research needs. Moreover, successful pursuit of that research agenda could provide answers to the central questions posed in Chapter 1 . However, the list of research topics is not ranked, either within the three general categories or as a complete set of 43. An absolute ranking would be difficult to achieve, as all are important parts of a national water resources research agenda. Furthermore, the list of research priorities can be expected to change over time, reflecting both changes in the generators of such lists and in the conditions to which they are responding. This chapter, thus, provides a mechanism for reviewing, updating, and prioritizing research areas in this and subsequent lists. It should be noted that the 43 research areas in Table 3-1 are of varying complexity and breadth. In addition, the committee expanded research area #21 (develop more efficient water use) from the version found in the Envisioning report to include all sectors rather than just the agricultural sector.

The increasing urgency of water-related issues has stimulated a number of scientific societies and governmental entities, in addition to the WSTB, to produce

TABLE 3-1 Water Resources Research Areas that Should Be Emphasized in the Next 10–15 Years

.

 

research to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of past water policies and projects

 

SOURCE: Adapted from NRC (2001a), which identifies the researchable questions associated with each topic.

their own lists of research priorities. For example, the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography recently convened a workshop to draft a list of emerging research issues (ASLO, 2003). These issues included the biogeochemistry of aquatic ecosystems, the influence of hydrogeomorphic setting on aquatic systems, the impacts of global changes in climate and element cycles, and emerging measurement technologies. This list builds on the comprehensive analysis of research priorities for freshwater ecosystems set forth in The Freshwater Imperative ( Box 2-1 ; see also Naiman et al., 1995). Another list of research priorities was recently assembled by the European Commission (2003), Task Force Environment–Water, which emphasizes water availability and water quality and the social, economic, and political aspects of water management. Like the NRC (2001a) report, this research agenda sets forth broad areas of research, with more specific “action lines” within high-priority areas. However, the approach differs from NRC (2001a) in that water quality is separated from water availability, and the socioeconomic and political research agenda is oriented toward crisis management. The U.S. Global Change Program also identified interrelated issues of quantity, quality, and human society as key research needs (Gleick et al., 2000);

this research agenda emphasizes the development of models and methods of prediction as well as data collection and monitoring systems, and it emphasizes research on the socioeconomic and legal impacts of climate change.

This brief review of selected contemporary lists of research priorities, as well as the lists of research priorities shown in Box 2-1 , illustrates that the articulation and the ranking of research topics vary with the entity charged to develop a research agenda. It can be anticipated that future lists of priorities will also differ from these.

A METHOD FOR SETTING PRIORITIES OF A NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA

The business of setting priorities for water resources research needs to be more than a matter of summing up the priorities of the numerous federal agencies, professional associations, and federal committees. Indeed, there is no logical reason why such a list should add up to a nationally relevant set of priorities, as each agency has its own agenda limited by its particular mission, just as each disciplinary group and each committee does. There is a high probability that research priorities not specifically under the aegis of a particular agency or other organization will be significantly neglected. Indeed, the institutional issues that constitute one of the three major themes in Table 3-1 are not explicitly targeted in the mission of any federal agency. This is the current state of affairs in the absence of a more coordinated mechanism for setting a national water resources research agenda.

A more rigorous process for priority setting should be adopted—one that will allow the water resources research enterprise to remain flexible and adaptable to changing conditions and emerging problems. Such a mechanism is also essential to ensure that water resources research needs are considered from a national and long-term perspective. The components of such a priority-setting process are outlined below, in the form of six questions or criteria that can be used to assess individual research areas and thus to assemble a responsive and effective national research agenda. In order to ensure the required flexibility and national-scale perspective, the criteria should also be applied to individual research areas during periodic reviews of the research enterprise.

Is there a federal role in this research area? This question is important for evaluating the “public good” nature of the water resources research area. A federal role is appropriate in those research areas where the benefits of such research are widely dispersed and do not accrue only to those who fund the research. Furthermore, it is important to consider whether the research area is being or even can be addressed by institutions other than the federal government.

What is the expected value of this research? This question addresses the importance attached to successful results, either in terms of direct problem solving or advancement of fundamental knowledge of water resources.

To what extent is the research of national significance? National significance is greatest for research areas (1) that address issues of large-scale concern (for example, because they encompass a region larger than an individual state), (2) that are driven by federal legislation or mandates, and (3) whose benefits accrue to a broad swath of the public (for example, because they address a problem that is common across the nation). Note that while there is overlap between the first and third criteria, research may have public good properties while not being of national significance, and vice versa.

Does the research fill a gap in knowledge? If the research area fills a knowledge gap, it should clearly be of higher priority than research that is duplicative of other efforts. Furthermore, there are several common underlying themes that, given the expected future complexity of water resources research, should be used to evaluate research areas:

the interdisciplinary nature of the research

the need for a broad systems context in phrasing research questions and pursuing answers

the incorporation of uncertainty concepts and measurements into all aspects of research

how well the research addresses the role of adaptation in human and ecological response to changing water resources

These themes, and their importance in combating emerging water resources problems, are described in detail in this chapter.

How well is this research area progressing? The adequacy of efforts in a given research area can be evaluated with respect to the following:

current funding levels and funding trends over time

whether the research area is part of the agenda of one or more federal agencies

whether prior investments in this type of research have produced results (i.e., the level of success of this type of research in the past and why new efforts are warranted)

These questions are addressed with respect to the current water resources research portfolio in Chapter 4 .

How does the research area complement the overall water resources research portfolio? The portfolio approach is built on the premise that a diverse mix of holdings is the least risky way to maximize return on investments. When applied to federal research and development, the portfolio concept is invoked to mean a mix between applied research and fundamental research (Eiseman et al., 2002). Indeed, the priority-setting process should be as much dedicated to ensuring an appropriate balance and mix of research efforts as it is to listing specific research topics. In the context of water resources, a diversified portfolio would capture the following desirable elements of a national research agenda:

multiple national objectives related to increasing water availability, improving water quality and ecological functions, and strengthening institutional and management practices

short-, intermediate-, and long-term research goals supporting national objectives

agency-based, contract, and investigator-driven research

both national and region-specific problems being encompassed

data collection needs to support all of the above

Thus, the water resources research agenda should be balanced in terms of the time scale of the effort (short-term vs. long-term), the source of the problem statements (investigator-driven vs. problem-driven), the goal of the research (fundamental vs. applied), and the investigators conducting the work (internally vs. externally conducted). An individual research area should be evaluated for its ability to complement existing research priorities with respect to these characteristics. Definitions of these terms are provided in Box 3-1 , and the appropriate balance among these categories is addressed in Chapters 4 and 6 .

Furthermore, it is important to consider whether the research fills gaps in the desired mix of water availability, water use, and institutional topics (as demarcated in Table 3-1 ). A final level of evaluation would consider how well the research responds to the four themes described in this chapter (interdisciplinarity, broad systems context, evaluation of uncertainty, and adaptation).

To summarize, a balanced water resources research agenda will include items of national significance for which a federal role is necessary; fill knowledge gaps in all three topical areas (water availability, water use, and institutions); incorporate a mixture of short-term and long-term research, basic and applied investigations, investigator-initiated and mission-driven research, and internal and external efforts; and build upon existing funding and research success. As noted above, some of these issues are addressed in subsequent chapters, with respect to the current water resources research agenda (see Table 3-1 ). The remainder of this chapter expands upon the four overarching themes that should form the context within which water resources research is conceptualized and performed.


In order to assess the scope and adequacy of the national research agenda in water resources, it is first necessary to articulate what is meant by “research.” Research encompasses intellectual inquiry in pursuit of new knowledge. However, this inquiry can take place across many dimensions of temporal and spatial scale, purpose, and organization. After reviewing the varieties of activities classified as “research” by the federal agencies, the committee developed a taxonomy of research categories that was used to assess the distribution and balance of the national water resources research agenda. Following is a description of the categories as used by the committee to assess the current status of water resources research.

It is important to specify the time scale over which the research is done and over which the results of the research may be applied. “Short-term” research refers to research efforts that are conceptualized and prioritized over a maximum of five-year time frames and conducted over shorter periods of time (two to three years) and that are applicable on immediate time scales. Short-term research is expected to produce immediate results that can be directly applied to current problems. Developing methods of optimizing the use of current water supplies, a research priority of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, is a typical example of short-term research. In contrast, “long-term” research refers to research efforts that are conceptualized and prioritized over time frames of more than five years and are usually carried out over relatively long time frames (greater than five years) and/or produce results that will only be applicable to management or further research over similarly long time scales. Examples include the Long-term Ecological Research sites of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the research watersheds maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, as well as research conducted on fundamental aspects of water science.

Research can be evaluated in terms of the type of knowledge that is sought. Traditionally, research that is solely inspired by curiosity—a quest to understand the world and generate new knowledge—is thought to be “fundamental.” Such research is contrasted with “applied research,” which is designed to solve a specific, contemporary problem. However, a more

realistic representation of the these categories distinguishes two types of fundamental research, which can be denoted as “pure basic research,” which is conducted without respect to any practical application, and “use-based basic research” in which an ultimate application informs research that seeks the basic knowledge necessary to solve a problem (Stokes, 1997). The term “fundamental” is used in this report to encompass those activities intended to generate new knowledge; it includes both that research conducted without respect to any practical application and that inspired by the need for solutions to real-world problems. The term “applied research” is used to encompass those activities that seek to determine if and how current knowledge can be applied to solving problems. This formulation is in accord with the portrayal of research in “Pasteur’s quadrant” as a two-dimensional set of continua (Stokes, 1997). In accordance with these definitions, research may be immediately applicable to management problems and yet be “fundamental” if the resolution of those problems involves the production of new understanding of basic phenomena. For example, research contributing to an understanding of groundwater flow in fractured rock aquifers is fundamental research, as this is a poorly understood topic in hydrogeology. However, because there are many fractured rock aquifers that are major water sources for consumptive use and/or are contaminated, the knowledge has immediate application. In contrast, research on the applicability of readily available treatment technologies to remediate contamination in a fractured rock aquifer would be applied research, as it addresses the uses to which existing knowledge may be put.

Investigator-driven research is initially conceived by an individual or group of individuals, through imaginative and original thought applied to existing knowledge in a field, and it is conducted as a result of the initiative of the scientist in finding funds to support the research effort. It is sometimes described as curiosity-driven. Such research is usually conducted after external peer review of a research proposal submitted in competition with other investigator-initiated proposals. The research programs of the NSF are the standard for such research. An example might be research exploring a previously unknown mechanism by which a contaminant interferes with cell physiology, which an investigator has thought about and wants to verify experimentally. In contrast, mission-driven research is conducted in response to a problem area identified by and consistent with both an agency mission statement and/or a congressional

mandate in particular legislation. Such problem statements are developed by agency staff and administrators, who then seek out the appropriate mix of scientists to develop a research program to address the problem. While the ingenuity and originality of the scientific approach are highly valued in such research, they do not typically contribute to the initial definition of the scientific problem at hand. An example might be determination of exposure risks for a class of contaminants; the mission is to regulate risk from a class of pollutants, and the goal of the research is to satisfy the performance of this mission.

Research can be evaluated in terms of the institutional affiliation of the individuals carrying out the activity. “Internal” research is conducted by investigators employed by the agency funding the work. “External research” is conducted by investigators in institutions other than the funding agency. The large majority of external research is conducted by faculty at institutions of higher education, through grants and contracts with funding agencies.

Gradations exist within each category of research, such that a research project may be of, for example, “intermediate term.” However, most agency research programs sponsor research that is close enough to one extreme or the other on each scale to be satisfactorily classified by the above typology. This is particularly true for the latter two classifications.

There is considerable overlap among these categories; indeed, in practice they grade into each other, forming continua of research characteristics. Thus, the majority of long-term research is also fundamental research, whereas short-term research is often, but not always, applied. Much of the short-term research is conducted internally, particularly by agencies whose missions are focused on solving current problems. Short-term research is also likely to be mission-driven, for the same reason. Investigator-driven research is, by contrast, most likely to be conducted externally, by individuals based at universities, research institutes, and other nongovernmental organizations, and it is more likely to be fundamental and long-term. Although there are clear correlations among these categories, it is important to note that there is much research being conducted that combines the categories in other ways.

THEMES OF FUTURE WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH

There are several common underlying themes that should be used to (1) integrate and reconcile the numerous lists of research priorities currently being generated by agencies and scientific societies and (2) provide some overall direction to the multiple agencies and academic entities that carry out water resources research. These themes are interdisciplinarity, a broad systems context, uncertainty, and adaptation in human and ecological response to changing water resources.

The term interdisciplinarity refers to the fact that no question about water resources can be now adequately addressed within the confines of traditional disciplines. The research community recognizes that the physical, chemical, and biological/ecological characteristics of water resources are causally and mechanistically interrelated, and all are profoundly affected by the human presence in the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand water resources with reference to a range of natural and social scientific disciplines.

The phrase broad system context refers to the perception that all properties of water are part of a complex network of interacting factors, in which the processes that connect the factors are as important as the factors themselves. Both interdisciplinarity and broad systems context place water resources within the emerging field of complex systems (Holland, 1995; Holland and Grayston, 1998).

Uncertainty —the degree of confidence in the results and conclusions of research—has always been an important component of scientific research. All measurements and observations entail some degree of error, as do methods of data analysis, estimation, and modeling. Understanding the sources and amounts of uncertainty attached to estimates of flow, water quality, and other water resource variables is crucial, because so many practical and often expensive decisions hinge on the results. In short, understanding and measuring uncertainty are central to making informed decisions about water resources. Furthermore, an emphasis on uncertainty also implies attention to the extent and quality of the data available for generating estimates of important variables; this attention in turn implies a need to improve technologies for research and monitoring. Finally, an understanding of the uncertainties in data, models, and scientific knowledge lies at the heart of risk analysis and the development of policies and strategies to handle complex environmental problems (Handmer et al., 2001).

Finally, adaptation is a key component of the human, as well as ecological, response to the ever-changing environment. Human society has always changed in response to changing resources; the challenge is now to anticipate environmental changes and develop adaptive responses before catastrophe or conflict force such evolution. This is particularly pressing as research ascertains the impact of human activities on ecosystems, such as greenhouse gas release into the atmosphere and deforestation. Adaptation may involve modifying social mores and norms or forming new government policies including economic policies. For

example, there is little doubt among many researchers that emerging water scarcity will demand greatly altered expectations and behaviors in society. It may also involve new methods of managing resources in which flexibility to respond to unanticipated or rapidly occurring problems is the guiding principle.

These four themes are illustrated below, using a subset of the research priorities developed in Table 3-1 . The portfolio of existing water resources research tends not to be organized along these thematic lines.

INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF RESEARCH

The need for expertise from many disciplines to solve individual water resource problems is widely recognized and has produced repeated calls for collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to research (Cullen et al., 1999; Naiman and Turner, 2000; Jackson et al., 2001). For example, aquatic ecosystems research now emphasizes the tight linkages between the traditional biological and ecological issues and both hydrology and human use of water (Poff et al., 1997; Richter et al., 1997). Similarly, the transformations of nutrients and pollutants reflect the interplay of hydrology and microbial ecology (Brunke and Gonser, 1997). Examples of several research areas from Table 3-1 are given below to elaborate on the interdisciplinary nature of water resources research.

thesis topics for water resources engineering

outline of contaminant fate and transport makes it clear that this research priority necessitates a collaborative effort by physical chemists, soil scientists, hydrologists, geologists, microbiologists, plant scientists, and ecologists.

Similarly, wetlands are structured by water regimes in which very small variations in flow timing and amounts, in seasonal patterns of flow variation, in flow extremes, and in the duration of wet and dry events have very large effects on the biota (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000; NRC, 2001b). Withdrawals of both groundwater and surface waters for human use can alter the flow regime, such that even subtle alterations can have large effects on the biota and function of the downgradient wetlands. Current controversy about the failure of mitigation methods and policy to meet the goal of “no net loss” of wetlands (Turner et al., 2001) is rooted in the difficulty of reproducing wetland hydrology in created and restored wetlands (NRC, 1995, 2001b). At the same time, the institutions and policies that are used to implement the goal of “no net loss” are being questioned and challenged. Wetland restoration thus demands research that integrates hydrology, plant and animal ecology, and social science.

approach is urgently needed. There are numerous factors that can confound the successful operation of irrigation projects on a sustainable basis. Problems related to climate variability, soil salinity, deterioration of the irrigation infrastructure, and social instability contributed to the collapse of the ancient empires, like the Akkadians and Sassanians who lived in the Tigris and Euphrates River valley, or the Hohokams who prospered for a millennium along the Gila and Salt rivers of now south-central Arizona (Postel, 1999). Today’s challenges are expected to be similar, because irrigation agriculture is associated with arid and semiarid environments where climate variability significantly impedes the successful long-term operation of these systems. In modern times, storage provided by large dams has reduced the impact of short-term fluctuations in climate. However, the looming prospect of global climate change, coupled with water demands of growing populations, has tremendous implications for irrigated agriculture in the next century (NAST, 2000).

The research challenges are to provide better projections of how climate might change and to improve hydrologic observation systems to document these changes (NAST, 2000). In addition, because large-scale structural solutions for water supply for irrigated agriculture are difficult to justify on social and economic grounds (Pulwarty, 2003), social science research on determinants of water use in the agricultural sector and agronomic research on improved crop varieties for dryland agriculture are needed. The problem of sustaining irrigated agriculture becomes even more interdisciplinary when one considers the need to understand the response of soils and surface water systems (in terms of chemistry and ecology) to alterations in irrigation return flows and the need to understand how economics might produce flexible strategies for irrigation. Assessments like those relating to the restoration of the Colorado River delta (Luecke et al., 1999) or the San Francisco Bay delta (McClurg, 1997) make clear the inherent multidisciplinarity of developing water supply systems for irrigated agriculture within an environment of competing demands and constraints.

Efforts are underway to reduce the nonpoint source contamination of the nation’s waters (e.g., Mississippi River Task Force, 2001). However, the enormous scope and scale of the problem are daunting, as land-use practices in several sectors of the economy often result in degradation of water resources in areas far downstream from the site(s) of impact. For example, excessive loading of nitrogen derived mainly from agriculture in the Midwest has contributed to an oxygen-

depleted zone in the Gulf of Mexico that can be as large as the state of New Jersey (Goolsby and Battaglin, 2000). Solving this problem requires not only resolving multiple scientific questions, but also resolving social, economic, and political complexities at scales ranging from the local to the national. Combating nonpoint source pollution will require both basic and applied research. For example, although good progress is being made in elucidating factors controlling contaminant loading (e.g., Alexander et al., 2000; Dubrovsky et al., 1998; Porter et al., 2001), more work is required to understand the fate and transport of nonpoint source pollutants and their fundamental effects on human and environmental health, particularly for pesticides and their transformation products (USGS, 1999). This understanding will require decades of high-resolution chemical and biological monitoring coupled with new analytical and modeling approaches.

The key physical approaches for controlling nonpoint source contamination are local mitigation strategies provided by wetlands, sedimentation ponds, and riparian areas along streams, and land-management strategies that reduce runoff and chemical use. Mitigation is an expensive option, both in terms of implementation and reductions in farmed area. Considerable research will be needed in proof-of-concept, design, and in cost/benefit analyses, requiring the participation of ecologists, soil scientists, hydrologists, and geologists to determine the appropriate size, type, and placement of structures. Changes to farming practices on a continental scale will require equally complex research by agronomists, soil scientists, hydrologists, economists, and social scientists because broad stakeholder education and involvement, voluntary actions, new legislative authority, and coordination across localities and regions will be necessary to implement such changes (Mississippi River Task Force, 2001). Finally, contaminant fluxes from land to streams and rivers may well undergo chronic increases as a result of larger rainfall events associated with future climate change. Thus, progress in controlling nonpoint contamination will require interdisciplinary research linking the historically important areas of agriculture, hydrology, and biology with emerging areas of climate change, natural resource economics, education, and human dimensions of decision making.

BROAD SYSTEMS CONTEXT

The systems approach mandates that a problem be addressed by specifying the entities that contribute to the problem, the linkages among these entities, the logical or physical boundaries to the system, and the inputs and outputs to the system as a whole (in other words, linkages to entities deemed to be outside the system). The idea has its roots in physics, in which a “system” is a thermodynamic concept related to the flow and conservation of energy. The linkages among entities within a system are as important as the entities themselves; thus, a system is more than the sum of its parts (see Box 3-2 ). Systems usually show nonlinear dynamics, and the nonlinearities among sets of linked entities often lead to

unanticipated and complex behavior, and also to surprises—events that cannot be exactly predicted, or that are outside the realm of prior experience. Indeed, these characteristics of system behavior have been highlighted as key aspects of environmental problems (NRC, 1997a). Thus, considering water resources research within a broad systems context implies elucidating interrelationships among entities that, at first glance, might not be thought to be related. This approach also mandates that small-scale problems be viewed within a larger-scale perspective, which may profoundly alter the understanding of causal and quantitative relationships.

The need to view some of the research priorities set forth in Table 3-1 within a broad systems context is illustrated below.

As an example, the Idaho Department of Water Resources increasingly must resolve conflicts among citizens concerning competing demands for (and assertion of rights over) surface water and groundwater, and it also must resolve interstate water conflicts between Idaho and neighboring states (Dreher, 2003). Provision of adequate water for the habitats of endangered and threatened aquatic species is also part of the state’s responsibilities. Idaho contains six aquifers that span interstate lines and that affect surface water flows in adjoining states. Currently, management of both groundwater and surface water supplies is being undertaken without adequate knowledge of the connections between the two sources, leading to conflicts and shortages. The lack of a comprehensive understanding of the entire regional hydrogeologic system and its links to both human use and natural ecosystems is leading to increased litigation, with current needs not being met. In order to help resolve these conflicts, management agencies need


The traditional approach to problem solving suggests that a dependent variable results from the action of one or a small number of independent variables. An illustration of the traditional approach to a water quality problem would be phosphorus pollution of a waterbody thought of primarily with respect to the major sources (wastewater inputs and natural sources).

A systems approach, in contrast, emphasizes the fluxes and quantitative relationships among entities within a bounded region. Consider the same problem of phosphorus pollution in a lake, but from a broad systems perspective (see diagram to the right, in which solid arrows indicate phosphorus flows, and dashed arrows indicate other effects). The phosphorus content of the lake is the result of input and output fluxes to compartments within the lake—i.e., algal uptake and release through the decomposition of dead algal cells; deposition to and mobilization from the sediments; inputs from outside the lake such as flowing water, litter fall, and bedrock sources; and outflows from the system. The diagram

accurate measurements of water flows and water stocks over a range of temporal and spatial scales. Moreover, the influences of natural processes, natural climate variability, and human intervention in the water system must be monitored.

also indicates that there are feedbacks; for example, fisheries represent both a net flux of phosphorus out of the lake, but they also affect the regional economy, which in turn can affect both the flow of wastewater and nonpoint sources pollutants into the lake as well as water flow rates into the lake via upstream diversions of water. Thus, understanding phosphorus pollution in the lake depends on understanding the nature of fluxes and feedbacks among the components of the system and the factors controlling each flux, as well as understanding the components themselves.

transpiration rates from vegetation and evaporation rates from the soil surface, thus altering soil and atmospheric moisture content and the likelihood of rain and forest fire. These in turn will have large effects on regional hydrology. These connections, which have been well documented for tropical rain forests, are germane to understanding the connections between hydrology and climate worldwide.

Moreover, the driving force for global climate change—the rise in greenhouse gas concentrations associated with human activities—will also affect aquatic ecosystems in ways that may amplify or dampen the effects of hydrologic change alone. For example, higher CO 2 concentrations will alter leaf chemistry and the relative growth rates of different plant species. Both changes may affect the palatability of litter to decomposer and consumer organisms, in turn affecting decomposition rates, nutrient cycling rates, and ultimately the density and species

composition of the plant community. Changing CO 2 concentrations may also affect pH of the water, with cascading effects on the biota, although changes in flow regime may interact with increased dissolution of CO 2 to modify this effect. These feedbacks are being incorporated into the models that are used to predict the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate and water resources. Unfortunately, the great complexity of the system results in model predictions that span a range of values too large and uncertain to be usable for regional or local water resource management at this time (Chase et al., 2003).

Just as energy supply interacts with water use in multiple ways, as described above, energy extraction (for example, oil and gas development in the West) similarly affects water use in complex ways. Impacts of energy extraction on biotic resources may affect water supply and water use indirectly, by limiting potential options to manage water resources. For example, recent and rapid development of methane gas resources in the Powder River Basin is causing major disruptions in groundwater supply sources (BLM, 2003). Depending on the method of energy extraction, water quality is often impaired. Drilling muds, for example, frequently contain additives that have the potential to contaminate downstream or downgradient water supplies (EPA, 2000).

UNCERTAINTY

Water resource management relies on monitoring data, scientific understanding of processes in the water cycle and the ecology of aquatic ecosystems, and ultimately predictive models that can forecast hydrologic conditions and biotic and human responses. All of these types of information are subject to uncertainty. Uncertainty results from many sources, including measurement systems that are not sufficiently precise or that do not generate sufficient quantities of high-quality data, instrument failures, human errors in designing and implementing studies, and simply a lack of understanding of the processes and phenomena under investigation. Uncertainty affects both the analysis of data and the construction of models to make water resource predictions. Although inherent to research, uncertainty can be managed by explicit recognition of its occurrence coupled with quantitative methods of measuring its importance and incorporating it into decision making. By describing the degree of uncertainty in research results (and by inference the reliability of the measurements and models), researchers can adjust the expectations for the use of their data and models accordingly. Reliable estimates of uncertainty contribute directly to successful risk management and the development of environmental policy (Funtowicz and Ravetz, 1990; Dovers et al., 2001). It should be noted that the above definition of uncertainty is broader than that espoused by some federal agencies (e.g., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for which uncertainty refers to situations in which the probability of potential outcomes and their results cannot be described by objectively known probability distributions). Below are examples illustrating the importance of the quantification of uncertainty for some of the research priorities listed in Table 3-1 .

To predict the fate and transport of contaminants from the proposed repository, the DOE has developed a complex mathematical model called Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) that itself depends on the output of dozens of process-oriented models. The success of the DOE’s license application depends in large measure on the confidence placed in the TSPA predictions of contaminant transport and the technical basis for those predictions. Conceptual and model uncertainty and the explicit quantification of this uncertainty are central to the question of technical basis. As noted by the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in a letter to Congress (NWTRB, 2002): “Resolving all uncertainty is neither necessary nor possible. However, uncertainties about the performance of those components of the repository system relied upon to isolate waste are very important, and information on the extent of uncertainty and assumed conservatism associated with the performance of these components may be important to policy makers, the technical community, and the public.” Regardless of policymakers’ and the public’s varying levels of tolerance for uncertainty, it can still be said that results of research to quantify, and perhaps further reduce, uncertainties can contribute to the quality and credibility of impending public policy decisions.

  

This committee was not constituted to determine the merits of Yucca Mountain project or the ripeness of the decision to license a repository there.

remediate polluted waterbodies. Mandated by the Clean Water Act, a TMDL is a calculation of the maximum pollutant loading that a waterbody can sustain and still meet its water quality standards. If the current loadings are higher, then the TMDL must be accompanied by a remedial plan on how to reduce the loadings via best management practices (BMPs). TMDLs are established for an impaired waterbody by using a combination of fate and transport models for the target pollutant or stressor and available waterbody data. This requires both watershed models (which take into account such processes as the movement of pollutants across land) and water quality models (which incorporate in-lake pollutant transport and transformation). Models are also potentially needed to predict the effectiveness of certain BMPs. Many of the watershed and water quality models in use suffer from inadequate representation of physicochemical processes, inappropriate applicability, and lack of training of model users (EPA, 2002). Similarly, the data on which TMDLs are based may be inconsistent in quality or inappropriate in terms of the frequency and extent of sampling. Finally, the methods used to identify impaired waterbodies are often inadequate because of deficiencies in state monitoring networks. All of these problems generate uncertainties in the applicability and effectiveness of the resulting TMDL. The development of improved methods of quantifying uncertainty in both the models and the listing criteria, especially in setting “margin of safety” criteria, is critical if informed decisions about restoring polluted waterbodies are to be made. Indeed, the central role of uncertainty has been a major conclusion of several recent studies critically examining the TMDL program (NRC, 2001c; Borsuk et al., 2002; EPA, 2002).

Water resource managers are subject to increasingly diverse, often conflicting forces. For example, it was relatively simple to develop the knowledge base needed to provide predictable amounts of water to agriculture when this was the only use for a water supply. It becomes much more complicated when agricultural uses need to be met while new demands come from urbanizing areas and from governmental and nongovernmental entities demanding water for endangered species or aquatic ecosystem support, such that the total demand exceeds the readily available supply. In such contexts, adaptability becomes essential. Managers, users, and advocates need to have the flexibility to imagine and adopt novel solutions to water resource problems, and researchers in their search for solutions need to have the flexibility to adapt their research to problems that may have been unimaginable in the recent past. Furthermore, the complexity of current problems may demand that combinations of solutions be applied creatively to different components of a problem. This emphasis on adaptability of both the research community and the managers and users of water needs to be an organizing concept for water resources research. Thus, “adaptation” is defined as a combination of flexibility in solving problems and, more fundamentally, a shift in

norms and standards that can result from confronting novel situations. A related concept in water resources is that of adaptive management, a learning-while-doing process in which a management action is viewed as an experiment, and as managers learn from their successes and failures, they adjust their management actions accordingly (Holling, 1978; Geldof, 1995; Haney and Power, 1996; Wieringa and Morton, 1996; Lee, 1999; NRC, 1999, 2003b, 2004b).

Below are examples of how adaptation is a key element in addressing some of the research priorities listed in Table 3-1 .

This combination of challenges will require adaptability on the part of both researchers and users. For example, creative water delivery systems, such as inhome gray water recycling or dual-home distribution systems (Wilchfort and Lund, 1997) that bring potable water to a few taps and slightly less pure water to other taps for cleaning purposes or industrial needs, will require research. This includes research to develop the technologies to implement such systems and research to understand how people adapt to new modes of obtaining and using water (see Box 3-3 ) and how such a transition might be effected. Individuals’ views of water-related risks (Loewenstein et al., 2001), in-home uses of water, and the value of water resources (Aini et al., 2001) will also need to adapt in order for these technological changes to be successful in maintaining drinking water quality.


A comprehensive, coordinated research strategy focused on human beliefs, values, and decision making about water is needed better understand humans’ potential to adapt to a changing water environment. In the past 20 years, research has been conducted on people’s perceptions of environmental issues (e.g., Slovic, 2000), but little has been done on water specifically. The body of knowledge concerning the factors that affect populations’ perceptions of water (Anadu and Harding, 2000), its value (NRC, 1997b; National Water Research Institute, 1999; Aini et al., 2001), its quality (NRC, 2001d; Williams and Florez, 2002), related risks (Lowenstein et al., 2001), and decision processes (Krewski et al., 1995) is not well developed. As an example, limited research has been conducted on the social and political complexity of water reuse as part of a sustainable community (e.g., see Hartley, 2003), and broad issues about public perception and acceptance of reuse remain unaddressed. In addition, research on effective means of communicating water-related risks has received limited attention (e.g., Griffin et al., 1998; Harding and Anadu, 2000; Burger et al., 2001; Parkin et al., 2003).

Only fragmented information is currently available to address water-related issues on the personal, social, or cultural scale. It is known that cultural biases and lifestyle preferences are powerful predictors of risk perceptions (Dake and Wildavsky, 1991). McDaniels et al. (1997) found that a small set of underlying factors (ecological impact, human benefits, controllability, and knowledge) affect lay people’s judgments about risks to water resources. One study in the United States indicates that people choose their source of water based on their awareness of water problems, their beliefs that such problems affect them personally, and the duration of the problems (Anadu and Harding, 2000). A much earlier study on water reuse in California indicated that the public favored options that protected public health, enhanced the environment, and conserved scarce water resources (Crook and Bruvold, 1980). In the Southwest, Caucasians and Mexican Americans have been found to have important differences in their views of water quality-related risks, equity, trust, and participation in civic affairs (Williams and Florez, 2002). In the United Kingdom, people’s perceptions of power and authority and beliefs in the efficacy of collective action were found to be associated with public views about recreational water (Langford et al., 2000). A study in Canada suggests that people believe that environmental quality (including water quality) is getting worse; they will not support decisions they feel will continue that trend or compromise their health, even if the economy improves (Krewski et al., 1995).

These studies have contributed to knowledge about water-related perceptions and decision processes, but the data are insufficient to provide a complete understanding of the factors that influence individual’s decisions about water.

diverse biological community within aquatic and riparian ecosystems. However, human actions to minimize floods and droughts and to provide reliable water for consumption at constant rates can eliminate this natural variability (Dynesius and Nilsson, 1994). In order to balance these effects, management of the water, the ecosystem, and the affected social groups must be adaptive in several respects.

For example, ecological restoration, while guided by ideals of the undisturbed or historical state of the ecosystem, increasingly must accept the lesser but still critical goal of repairing damaged systems to a partially restored state. This will be necessary because of insufficient knowledge of the undisturbed state, permanent alteration of the landscape through built structures and intensive land use, and the prevalence of nearly ineradicable nonnative species. An example is provided by the Laurentian Great Lakes, where overfishing and the onslaught of the sea lamprey brought about the decline of native fishes, including the lake trout. At the same time, exotic species of smaller “forage” fish proliferated, resulting in the famous die-off of alewives that littered Chicago’s beaches in the early 1970s. Fisheries managers attempted a bold experiment, importing coho and king salmon from the Pacific Northwest, a highly successful adaptation to a “collapsing” ecosystem. Now with well over one hundred nonnative species, the Great Lakes pose a continuing challenge to ecologists and fisheries managers seeking to manage and restore the ecosystem.

Adaptation is anticipated to be particularly difficult but absolutely essential in large aquatic ecosystems where there are multiple competing interests (fisheries scientists, communities relying on fishing, farmers, water resource and dam managers, etc.) (Peterson, 2000). The scale of conflicts arising from the plexus of interests involved in large-scale ecosystem restoration is illustrated by the recent Klamath (NRC, 2003a) and Columbia River controversies (Gregory et al., 2002; NRC, 1996, 2004a). Clearly, research is needed to develop adaptive approaches to both managing the resources (water, fish, etc.) as well as the various human populations involved in these issues. Flexibility, an understanding that a variety of alternative strategies are possible, and a willingness to adjust previously assumed “rights” will be essential in finding compromises between competing human and ecosystem demands. In addition, the use of adaptive management procedures will be necessary.

  

Equity in this context refers to fairness. Equity or fairness is not a scientific concept but is of pivotal importance in jurisprudence and policy making.

that people know what is expected or required and can act in accordance. Thus, for example, investments can be made with the expectation that changes in law will not undo the hoped-for return that motivated the investment. Actions can be taken without fear that a change in the rules will punish the actor. A stable legal system is important economically and socially.

However, this societal interest in stability may conflict with other emerging societal interests in periods of active change. During the 1970s, for example, Congress imposed far-reaching new legal requirements on those whose activities generated certain types of pollution from readily identifiable (point) sources, forcing massive investment in technologically advanced systems for the treatment of particular pollutants prior to their discharge into the environment. The years immediately following enactment of these laws were ones of considerable turmoil and conflict as uncertainties respecting their implementation were disputed and resolved. With these requirements now firmly embedded into the plans and actions of the regulated community, stability has returned. So too has resistance to any significant change in approach, even if such change might better accomplish the objectives of these laws.

Laws governing human uses of water have traditionally been concerned with determining who may make use of the resource and under what conditions. In those states east of the 100th meridian, owners of land adjacent to waterbodies essentially share the ability to use the water (riparian doctrine). Uses must be “reasonable,” with reasonable use generally being measured by the harm that might be caused to other riparian users. In the western states, uses are established through a process of appropriation of water—that is, establishing physical control—and then applying the water to a “beneficial use.” It is a priority system, protecting full use of available water by those first to appropriate it.

The appropriation system arose in the context of water-scarce settings. Direct use of water from streams initially for mining and then for agriculture was essential, and it required the investment of time and money to build the structures that would make that use possible. Users wanted certainty about their rights of use versus other subsequent users, and the prior appropriation system provided that certainty. The appropriation system does not, however, readily accommodate changing uses of water or integrate new uses. Nor does it incorporate the use of water for serving physical and ecological functions within the hydrologic cycle. This suggests that water laws need to be more adaptable if they are to meet changing societal needs. As a first effort, many western states have adopted water transfer laws to accommodate changing water uses, including environmental needs such as instream flows. These states have successfully combined the certainty of the prior appropriation system with the ability to meet emerging demands.

The process of restoring a sustainable level of physical and ecological integrity to our hydrologic systems must work within long-established legal and institutional structures whose purpose has been to promote and support direct human uses. The challenge is to develop societally acceptable approaches that allow

those uses to continue but in a manner that is compatible with ecosystem functionality.

LIMITATIONS TO THE CURRENT WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH ENTERPRISE

The articulation of these four themes—interdisciplinarity, broad systems context, uncertainty, and adaptation—is intended to reorient the disparate research agendas of individual agencies as well as individual researchers. The hope is that an emphasis on these overarching themes will lower barriers to research on newly emerging water resources problems. Research agendas of the federal agencies are driven by their specific mandates, such as the agricultural impacts on water (U.S. Department of Agriculture), water as a component of climate (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), or reservoir management (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation). Often there is a need for agencies to center their missions around clearly articulated, politically prominent issues in order to secure funding. These tendencies promote more narrowly focused research and present barriers to addressing difficult, large-scale problems. Furthermore, agencies are locked into policies devolving from their legislative and administrative history, and they cannot create new policies that cut across administrative or management units; thus, research is constrained by policies that easily become antiquated or irrelevant (Stakhiv, 2003). Finally, water resource problems are frequently conceived to match short-term funding cycles (Parks, 2003), resulting in inadequate knowledge for effective water management.

Similarly, individual scientists frame research in terms of their disciplinary training and work environment, which creates barriers to the kind of research needed to solve the complex problems that are now prominent. Indeed, the reluctance of scientists to reach outside their disciplines has been identified elsewhere as a barrier to effective water resources research (Parks, 2003). Institutional and professional constraints on priority setting also mitigate against effective research because they inhibit creative, innovative, and rapid responses to newly emerging or unanticipated problems.

Water resource problems are commonly assumed to be only local or regional in scope because water management entities and water supply systems operate on these scales. However, some water-related problems have become truly national in scope, either because of their very large spatial scale (e.g., the connection of the upper Mississippi drainage basin with hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico) or because controversies rage over the same water issues in many states throughout the nation. Unfortunately, the current organization of water resources research promotes site- and problem-specific research, which results in narrowly conceived solutions that are often not applicable to large-scale, complex problems or to similar issues in other regions of the country (Stakhiv, 2003). Federal agencies may see only the local character of a problem, without understanding the some-

times subtle ways in which local problems are widely replicated around the country, and may conclude that such problems are not appropriately addressed with federal resources. State representatives advised the committee that they rarely have the financial or scientific resources to address problems that have local manifestations but national significance. Thus, such research can fail to be carried out because of limitations at both the federal and state levels.

Finally, the ability to carry out research on water resources may be limited by the availability of adequate long-term data (as discussed in Chapter 5 ). Hydrologic processes are characterized by the frequency with which events of a given magnitude and duration occur. Infrequent but large-magnitude events (floods, droughts) have very large economic, social, and ecological impact. Without an adequately long record of monitoring data, it is difficult, if not impossible, to understand, model, and predict such events and their effects.

By emphasizing interdisciplinarity, broad systems context, uncertainty, and adaptation as overarching research guidelines, the specific research agendas of agencies and, hopefully, individual scientists can be made more relevant to emerging problems. A framework of research priorities based on these overarching themes is more likely to promote flexible, adaptive, and timely responses to novel or unexpected problems than research programs constrained by priority lists developed solely with respect to agency missions. The complexity and urgency of water resource problems demand a framework that widens the scope of inquiry of researchers and research managers and forces them to conduct research in novel ways.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Although the list of topics in Table 3-1 is our current recommendation concerning the highest priority water resources research areas, this list is expected to change as circumstances and knowledge evolve. Water resource issues change continuously, as new knowledge reveals unforeseen problems, as changes in society generate novel problems, and as changing perceptions by the public reveal issues that were previously unimportant. Periodic reviews and updates to the priority list are needed to ensure that it remains not only current but proactive in directing research toward emerging problems.

An urgent priority for water resources research is the development of a process for regularly reviewing and revising the entire portfolio of research being conducted. Six criteria are recommended for assessing both the scope of the entire water resources research enterprise and also the nature, urgency, and purview of individual research areas. These criteria should ensure that the vast scope of water resources research carried out by the numerous federal and state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and academic institutions remains focused and effective.

The research agenda should be balanced with respect to time scale, focus, source of problem statement, and source of expertise. Water resources research ranges from long-term and theoretical studies of basic physical, chemical, and biological processes to studies intended to provide rapid solutions to immediate problems. The water resources research enterprise is best served by developing a mechanism for ensuring that there is an appropriate balance among the different types of research, so that both the problems of today and those that will emerge over the next 10–15 years can be effectively addressed.

The context within which research is designed should explicitly reflect the four themes of interdisciplinarity, broad systems context, uncertainty, and adaptation. The current water resources research enterprise is limited by the agency missions, the often narrow disciplinary perspective of scientists, and the lack of a national perspective on perceived local but widely occurring problems. Research patterned after the four themes articulated above could break down these barriers and promise a more fruitful approach to solving the nation’s water resource problems.

Aini, M. S., A. Fakhru’l-Razi, and K. S. Suan. 2001. Water crisis management: satisfaction level, effect and coping of the consumers. Water Resources Management 15(1):31–39.

Alexander, R. A., R. B. Smith, and G. E. Schwartz. 2000. Effect of stream channel size on the delivery of nitrogen to the Gulf of Mexico. Nature 403:758–761.

American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO). 2003. Emerging Research Issues for Limnology: the Study of Inland Waters. Waco, TX: ASLO.

Anadu, E. C., and A. K. Harding. 2000. Risk perception and bottled water use. Journal of the American Water Works Association 92(11):82–92.

Anderson, J. L., H. van den Dool, A. Barnston, W. Chen, W. Stern, and J. Ploshay. 1999. Present–day capabilities of numerical and statistical models for atmospheric extratropical seasonal simulation and prediction. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 80:1349–1361.

Besner, M-C., V. Gauthier, B. Barbeau, R. Millette, R. Chapleau, and M. Prevost. 2001. Understanding distribution system water quality. Journal of the American Water Works Association 93(7):101–114.

Borsuk, M. E., C. A. Stowe, and K. H. Reckhow. 2002. Predicting the frequency of water quality standard violations: a probabilistic approach for TMDL development. Environ. Sci. Technol. 36:2109–2115.

Brunke, M., and T. Gonser. 1997. The ecological significance of exchange processes between rivers and groundwater. Freshwater Biology 37:1–33.

Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 2003. Final Environmental Impact Statement South Powder River Basin Coal. December. http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/prbcoal-feis/index.htm .

Burger, J., M. Gochfeld, C. W. Powers, L. Waishwell, C. Warren, and B. D. Goldstein. 2001. Science, policy, stakeholders and fish consumption advisories: developing a fish fact sheet for the Savannah River. Environmental Management 27:4:501.

California Energy Commission. 2003. Water Energy Use in California. http://www.energy.ca.gov/pier/-indust/water_industry.html .

Chase, T. N., R. A. Pielke, Sr., and C. Castro. 2003. Are present day climate simulations accurate enough for reliable regional downscaling? Water Resources Update No. 124:26–34.

Cohn, J. 2001. Resurrecting the dammed: a look at Colorado River restoration. BioScience 51:998–1005 .

Crook, J., and W. H. Bruvold. 1980. Public Evaluation of Water Reuse Options. OWRT/RU–80/2. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Water Research & Technology.

Cullen, P. W., R. H. Norris, V. H. Resh, T. B. Reynoldson, D. M. Roseberg, and M. T. Barbour. 1999. Collaboration in scientific research: a critical need for freshwater ecology. Freshwater Biology 42:131–142.

Dake, K., and A. Wildavsky. 1991. Individual differences in risk perception and risk-taking preferences. Pp. 15–24 In The Analysis, Communication and Perception of Risk. B. J. Garrick and W. C. Gekler (eds.). New York: Plenum Press.

Davies, C., D. L. Fraser, P. C. Hertzler, and R. T. Jones. 1997. USEPA’s infrastructure needs survey. Journal of the American Water Works Association 89(12):30–38.

Department of Energy (DOE). 2002. Yucca Mountain Project: Recommendation by the Secretary of Energy Regarding the Suitability of the Yucca Mountain Site for a Repository under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Washington, DC: DOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Pp. 13–15.

Dovers, S. R., T. W. Norton, and J. W. Handmer. 2001. Ignorance, uncertainty and ecology: key themes. Pp. 1–25 In Ecology, Uncertainty and Policy: Managing Ecosystems for Sustainability. J. W. Handmer, T. W. Norton, and S. R. Dovers (eds.). Harlow, UK: Prentice Hall.

Dreher, K. 2003. Presentation to the NRC Committee on Assessment of Water Resources Research. January 9, 2003, Tucson, AZ.

Dubrovsky, N. M., C. R. Kratzer, L. R. Brown, J. M. Gronberg, and K. R. Burow. 1998. Water quality in the San Joaquin–Tulare Basins, California, 1992–95. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1159. 38 p.

Dynesius M., and C. Nilsson. 1994. Fragmentation and flow regulation of river systems in the northern third of the world. Science 266:753–762.

Eiseman, E., K. Koizumi, and D. Fossum. 2002. Federal Investment in R&D. MR–1639.0–OSTP. RAND Science and Technology Policy Institute. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2000. Profile of the Oil and Gas Extraction Industry. EPA/ 310–R–99–006. Washington, DC: EPA Office of Compliance Sector Notebook Project.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2002. The Twenty Needs Report: How Research Can Improve the TMDL Program. EPA841–B–02–002. Washington, DC: EPA Office of Water.

European Commission. 2003. http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/tf-wt1.html/#contents .

Funtowicz, S. O., and J. R. Ravetz. 1990. Uncertainty and quality in science for policy. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishing.

Geldof, G. D. 1995. Adaptive water management: integrated water management on the edge of chaos. Water Science and Technology 32:7–13.

General Accounting Office (GAO). 2002. Water Infrastructure: Information on Financing, Capital Planning, and Privatization. GAO 02–764. Washington, DC: GAO.

Georgakakos, K. P., and R. Krzysztofowicz, (eds.). 2001. Special issue on probabilistic and ensemble forecasting. Journal of Hydrology 249:1–196.

Gleick, P. H., et al. 2000. Water: the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the Water Resources of the United States. The Report of the Water Sector Assessment Team of the National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change for the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Oakland, CA: Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security.

Goddard, L., S. J. Mason, S. E. Zebiak, C. F. Ropelewski, R. Basher, and M. A. Cane. 2001. Current approaches to seasonal-to-interannual climate predictions. International Journal of Climatology 21:1111–1152.

Goolsby, D. A., and W. A. Battaglin. 2000. Nitrogen in the Mississippi Basin—Estimating Sources and Predicting Flux to the Gulf of Mexico. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 135–00.

Gregory, S., H. Li, and J. Li. 2002. The conceptual basis for ecological responses to dam removal. BioScience 52:713–723.

Griffin, R. J., S. Dunwoddy, and F. Zabala. 1998. Public reliance on risk communication channels in the wake of a Cryptosporidium outbreak. Risk Anal. 18(4):367–376.

Handmer, J. W., T. W. Norton, and S. R. Dovers. 2001. Ecology, Uncertainty and Policy: Managing Ecosystems for Sustainability. London, UK: Pearson Education Ltd.

Haney, A., and R. L. Power. 1996. Adaptive management for sound ecosystem management. Environmental Management 20:879–886.

Harding, A. K., and E. C. Anadu. 2000. Consumer response to public notification. Journal of the American Water Works Association 92(8):32–41.

Hartley, T. W. 2003. Water Reuse: Understanding Public Perception and Participation. 00–PUM–1. Alexandria, VA: Water Environment Research Foundation.

Holland, J. 1995. Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity. Reading, MA: Addison–Wesley.

Holland, J., and S. Grayston. 1998. Emergence: from chaos to order. Reading, MA: Addison–Wesley.

Holling, C. S. (ed.) 1978. Adaptive Environmental Assessment and Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Jackson, R. B., S. R. Carpenter, C. N. Dahm, D. M. McNight, R. J. Naiman, S. Postel, and S. W. Running. 2001. Water in a changing world. Ecological Applications 11:1027–1045.

Kharin, V. V., and F. W. Zwiers. 2000. Changes in the extremes in an ensemble of transient climate simulations with a coupled atmosphere–ocean GCM. Journal of Climate 13:3760–3788.

Krewski, S., P. Slovic, S. Bartlett, J. Flynn, and C. K. Mertz. 1995. Health risk perceptions in Canada.II: worldviews, attitudes and opinions. HERA 1(3):231–248.

Langford, G., S. Georgiou, I. J. Bateman, R. J. Day, and R. K. Turner. 2000. Public perception of health risks from polluted coastal bathing waters: a mixed methodological analysis using cultural theory. Risk Anal. 20(5):691–704.

Lee, K. N. 1999. Appraising adaptive management. Conservation Ecology 3(2):3.

Levin, R. B., P. R. Epstein, T. E. Ford, W. Harrington, E. Olson, and E. G. Reichard. 2002. U.S. drinking water challenges in the twenty–first century. Environmental Health Perspectives 110:43–52.

Loewenstein, G. F., E. U. Weber, C. K. Hsee, and N. Welch. 2001. Risk as feelings. Psychological Bulletin 127(2):267–286.

Luecke, D. F., J. Pitt, C. Congdon, E. Glenn, C. Valdés–Casillas, and M. Briggs. 1999. A Delta Once More: Restoring Wetland Habitat in the Colorado River Delta. Report of the Environmental Defense Fund. 49 p.

Mason, S. J., L. Goddard, N. E. Graham, E. Yulaeva, L. Sun, and P. A. Arkin. 1999. The IRI seasonal climate prediction system and the 1997/98 El Niño event. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 80:1853–1873.

McClurg, S. 1997. Sacramento–San Joaquin River Basin Study. Report to the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission. 75 p.

McDaniels, T. L., L. J. Axelrod, N. S. Cavanagh, and P. Slovic. 1997. Perception of ecological risk to water environments. Risk Analysis 17(3):341–352.

McNeill, L. S., and M. Edwards. 2001. Iron pipe corrosion in distribution systems. Journal of the American Water Works Association 93(7):88–100.

Mississippi River Task Force (MRTF). 2001. Action Plan for Reducing, Mitigating, and Controlling Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Washington, DC: MRTF.

Mitsch, W., and J. G. Gosselink. 2000. Wetlands, 3rd. ed. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Naiman, R. J., and M. G. Turner. 2000. A future perspective on North America’s freshwater ecosystems. Ecological Applications 10:958–970.

Naiman, R. J., J. J. Magnuson, D. M. McKnight, and J. A. Stanford, eds. 1995. The Freshwater Imperative: A Research Agenda. Washington, DC: Island Press.

National Assessment Synthesis Team (NAST). 2000. Climate Change Impacts on the United States: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change. U.S. Global Change Research Program. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. 154 p.

National Research Council (NRC). 1992. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 1995. Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 1996. Upstream: Salmon and Society in the Pacific Northwest. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 1997a. Building a Foundation for Sound Environmental Decisions. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 1997b. Valuing Ground Water: Economic Concepts and Approaches. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 1999. Downstream: Adaptive Management of Glen Canyon Dam and the Colorado River Ecosystem. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2001a. Envisioning the Agenda for Water Resources Research in the Twenty–First Century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2001b. Compensating for Wetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2001c. Assessing the TMDL Approach to Water Quality Management. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2001d. Classifying Drinking Water Contaminants for Regulatory Consideration. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2002. Riparian Areas: Functions and Strategies for Management. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2003a. Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin: Causes of Decline and Strategies for Recovery. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2003b. Adaptive Monitoring and Assessment for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2004a. Managing the Columbia River: Instream Flows, Water Withdrawals, and Salmon Survival. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

National Research Council (NRC). 2004b. Adaptive Management for Water Resources Project Planning. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB). 2002. Letter Report to Congress and the Secretary of Energy, January 24, 2002. Arlington, VA: NWTRB. http://www.nwtrb.gov/-reports/2002ltr.pdf .

National Water Research Institute. 1999. The Value of Water. Fountain Valley, CA: National Water Research Institute.

Parkin, R. T., M. A. Embrey, and P. R. Hunter. 2003. Communicating water–related health risks: lessons learned and emerging issues. Journal of the American Water Works Association 95(7):58–66.

Parks, N. 2003. Fresh approaches to freshwater research. BioScience 53(3):218.

Patten, D. T., and L. E. Stevens. 2001. A managed flood on the Colorado River: background, objectives, design and implementation. Ecological Applications 11(3):635–643.

Pban, K., V. Dushenkov, H. Motto, and I. Raskin. 1995. Phytoextraction—the use of plants to remove heavy metals from soils. Environmental Science and Technology 29(5):1232–1238.

Peterson, G. 2000. Political ecology and ecological resilience: an integration of human and ecological dynamics. Ecological Economics 35:323–336.

Poff, N. L., J. D. Allan, M. B. Bain, J. R. Karr, K. L. Prestegaard, B. D. Richter, R. E. Sparks, and J. C. Stromberg . 1997. The natural flow regime. BioScience 47(11):769–784.

Porter, S. D., M. A. Harris, and S. J. Kalkhoff. 2001. Influence of Natural Factors on the Quality of Midwestern Streams and Rivers. Water–Resources Investigations Report 00–4288. U.S. Geological Survey.

Postel, S. 1999. Pillar of Sand. New York: W.W. Norton.

Powell, K. 2002. Open the floodgates! Nature 420:356–358.

Pulwarty, R. S. 2003. Climate and water in the West: science, information and decision–making. Water Resources Update 124:4–12.

Raupach, M. R. 1999. Group report: how is the atmospheric coupling of land surfaces affected by topography, complexity in landscape patterning and the vegetation mosaic? Pp. 177–196 In Integrating Hydrology, Ecosystem Dynamics and Biogeochemistry in Complex Landscapes. J. J. D. Tenhunen and P. Kabat (eds.). Chicester, UK: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Richter, B. D., J. V. Baumgartner, R. Wigington, J. David, and D. P. Braun. 1997. How much water does a river need? Freshwater Biology 37:231–249.

Risbey, J. S., and P. H. Stone. 1996. A case study of the adequacy of GCM simulations for input to regional climate change assessments. J. Climate 9:1441–1467.

Saulnier, G. J. 2002. Use of One-on Analysis to Evaluate Total System Performance. ANL–WIS– PA–000004 Rev. 00 ICN 00. Las Vegas, NV: Bechtel SAIC Company.

Shukla, J., L. Marx, D. Paolino, D. Straus, J. Anderson, J. Ploshay, D. Baumhefner, J. Tribbia, C. Brankovic, T. Palmer, Y. Chang, S. Schubert, M. Suarez, and E. Kalnay. 2000. Dynamical seasonal prediction. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 81(11):2593–2606.

Slovic, P. 2000. The Perception of Risk. London: Earthscan Publications.

Stakhiv, E. Z. 2003. Disintegrated water resources management. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 129:151–155.

Stevens, L. E., T. J. Ayers, J. B. Bennett, K. Christensen, M. J. C. Kearsley, V. J. Meretsky, A. M. Phillips, R. A. Parnell, J. Spence, M. K. Sogge, A. E. Springer, and D. L. Wegner. 2001. Planned flooding and Colorado River riparian tradeoffs downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. Ecological Applications 11(3):701–710.

Stokes, D. E. 1997. Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Strauss, D. 1993. The midlatitude development of regional errors in a global GCM. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 50(16):2785–2799.

Terry, N., and G. Banuelos (eds.). 2000. Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soil and Water. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.

Turner, R. E., A. M. Redmond, and J. B. Zedler. 2001. Count it by acre or function—mitigation adds up to net loss of wetlands. National Wetlands Newsletter 2(6):5–6,15–16.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 1999. The Quality of Our Nation’s Waters—Nutrients and Pesticides. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1125. 82 p.

Valentini, R., D. D. Baldocchi, and J. D. Tenhunen. 1999. Ecological controls on land–surface atmospheric interactions. Pp. 117–145 In Integrating Hydrology, Ecosystem Dynamics and Biogeochemistry in Complex Landscapes. J. D. Tenhunen and P. Kabat (eds.). Chicester, UK: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Wang, X. L., and F. W. Zwiers. 1999. Interannual variability of precipitation in an ensemble of AMIP climate simulations conducted with the CCC GCM2. Journal of Climate 12:1322–1335.

Webb, R. H., J. C. Schmidt, G. R. Marzolf, and R. A. Valdez (eds.). 1999. The controlled flood in Grand Canyon. Geophysical Monograph 110. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union.

Wieringa, M. J., and A. G. Morton. 1996. Hydropower, adaptive management and biodiversity. Environmental Management 20:831–840.

Wilchfort, G., and J. R. Lund. 1997. Shortage management modeling for urban water supply systems, Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management-ASCE 123(4):250–258.

Williams, B. L., and Y. Florez. 2002. Do Mexican-Americans perceive environmental issues differently than Caucasians: a study of cross-ethnic variation in perceptions related to water in Tucson. Environmental Health Perspectives 110(S2):303–310.

In order to confront the increasingly severe water problems faced by all parts of the country, the United States needs to make a new commitment to research on water resources. A new mechanism is needed to coordinate water research currently fragmented among nearly 20 federal agencies. Given the competition for water among farmers, communities, aquatic ecosystems and other users—as well as emerging challenges such as climate change and the threat of waterborne diseases— Confronting the Nation's Water Problems concludes that an additional $70 million in federal funding should go annually to water research. Funding should go specifically to the areas of water demand and use, water supply augmentation, and other institutional research topics. The book notes that overall federal funding for water research has been stagnant in real terms for the past 30 years and that the portion dedicated to research on water use and social science topics has declined considerably.

READ FREE ONLINE

Welcome to OpenBook!

You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

Show this book's table of contents , where you can jump to any chapter by name.

...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

Switch between the Original Pages , where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter .

Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

View our suggested citation for this chapter.

Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

Get Email Updates

Do you enjoy reading reports from the Academies online for free ? Sign up for email notifications and we'll let you know about new publications in your areas of interest when they're released.

  •  A 
  •  T 
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Biological Sciences & Bioengineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Science & Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Management Sciences
  • Materials Science & Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Sustainable Energy Engineering
  • Humanities & Social Sciences
  • Economic Sciences
  • Cognitive Science
  • Earth Sciences
  • Mathematics & Statistics
  • Space, Planetary & Astronomical Sciences & Engineering
  • Department of Management Sciences
  • Materials Science Programme
  • Nuclear Engineering & Technology
  • Photonics Science and Engineering Programme
  • Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology
  • Kotak School of Sustainability
  • Advanced Centre for Material Science(ACMS)
  • Advanced Centre for Electronic Systems(ACES)
  • Advanced Imaging Centre
  • Centre for Enviromental Science & Engineering
  • Centre for Mechatronics
  • Centre for Lasers and Photonics
  • Computer Aided Design Laboratory
  • Centre for Nanosciences
  • Prabhu Goel Research Centre for Computer and Internet Security
  • Samtel Centre for Display Technologies
  • SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Centre
  • Center for Mathematical Sciences
  • Syndicate Bank Entrepreneurship Research and Training Centre (SBERTC)
  • Centre for Continuing Education (CCE)
  • Electronic and ICT Academy(E&ICT Academy)
  • Centre for Energy Regulation (CER)
  • Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies
  • Energy Analytics Lab (EAL)
  • Rice-IITK Collaborative Center
  • Mehta Family Centre for Engineering in Medicine
  • IIT Kanpur-La Trobe University Research Academy
  • Chandrakanta Kesavan Center
  • Just Transition Research Centre (JTRC)
  • MedTech IIT Kanpur
  • Centre for Railway Research (CRR)
  • Shivani Centre
  • Computer Centre
  • P. K. Kelkar Library
  • Facility for Ecological & Analytical Testing
  • Office Automation
  • Scientific Glassware Fabrication & Special Water Facility (SGF&SWF)
  • Imagineering Laboratory
  • Central Cryogenic Facility
  • Liquid Helium Facility
  • SQUID Facility
  • Virtual Instrument Cell
  • National Center for Geodesy (NCG)
  • National Centre for Flexible Electronics
  • National Information Center of Earthquake Engineering
  • National Wind Tunnel Facility
  • KIT IIT Kanpur
  • Quality Improvement Program (QIP)
  • IP & Technology Transfer Cell
  • Directorate
  • Convocation
  • Transcripts
  • Current Registration/Add-Drop
  • Pre-registraion
  • Lecture Hall Booking
  • Dues Clearance System
  • Information Brochure
  • Rolling Advertisement
  • Current Opening
  • Awards and Honors
  • Faculty Forum
  • Faculty Benefits
  • Artist and Scholar In Residence
  • Dean, Digital Infrastructure & Automation
  • Office Orders
  • Alumni in News
  • Awards and Honours
  • Academic Initiatives
  • Students Initiatives
  • Batch Initiatives
  • Student Assistance
  • Alumni Assistance
  • DORD Online
  • Research Centers
  • Newsletters
  • R&D Forms
  • Project Vacancies
  • Call for Proposal
  • SURGE Programme
  • Student Gymkhana
  • Students Awards
  • Training & Placements
  • Counselling Service
  • Physical Education Section
  • Form DOIP: 101
  • Office Order related to Project Employee
  • Partnership
  • News and Updates
  • Students' Placement Office
  • Why recruit at IITK?
  • Procedures and Policy
  • Contact Placement Coordinator
  • Job Announcement Form
  • Internship Offer Format
  • Campus Recruitment Brochure
  • Campus Recruitment Guide
  • Departmental Brochures
  • Institute Club & Community Center
  • Gliding Club
  • Swimming Pool
  • Staff Gymkhana
  • Visitors' Hostel
  • Women's Association
  • Lecture Hall Complex (L.H.C) Booking
  • Emergency Services
  • Central Stores
  • Estate Office
  • Finance & Accounts
  • Health Centre
  • Institute Works Department
  • New Office Automation (Pingala)
  • Media Technology Centre
  • Image Archives
  • NOIDA Outreach Center
  • Internal Audit Section
  • Public Information
  • Institute Holidays
  • Restricted Holidays
  • Birds in IIT Kanpur
  • Vehicle Pass Form
  • Kislaya Nursery School
  • Campus School
  • Opportunity School
  • Kendriya Vidyalaya
  • Communication Skills
  • Time Management Skills
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Teamwork Skills
  • Work Delegation Skills
  • Work Ethics
  • Debates & Discussions
  • Guidelines for Communicating in Writing
  • Self-Help Website for COVID
  • Suggest a Quick Link
  • Plan Your Visit
  • Health Center
  • P K Kelkar Library
  • Campus Maps
  • Directories
  • OFFICE AUTOMATION
  • Staff Bus Service
  • IITK History
  • Institute Archives
  • Seminar & Thesis Defense Announcements
  • Old Website
  • Academic Calendar
  • Faculty & Staff Campus Life
  • Faculty Vacancies
  • Teaching Blog
  • Dean R & D
  • R&D Newsletter
  • R&D Profile
  • SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Center
  • Technopark@IITK
  • Institute Lecture Series
  • C.N.R Rao Lecture Series
  • Intranet Users
  • Apply for No Dues
  • No Dues Admin
  • New Dues Clearance System
  • Students Gymkhana
  • Computer Center
  • Exam Schedule
  • Student Campus Life
  • COGJET-2020
  • Alumni Impact
  • Alumni Magazine
  • Alumni Association
  • Staff Overview
  • Staff Vacancies
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Extra Quick Link 1
  • Extra Quick Link 2

thesis topics for water resources engineering

  • Institute Overview
  • Featured Research
  • Education at IITK
  • Old News @ IIT Kanpur
  • Avant Grade
  • Board of Governors
  • Key Administrators
  • Organization Tree
  • Registrar Office
  • Finance Office
  • Annual Report
  • International Relations
  • 360 Degree Campus View
  • Campus Directory
  • Campus Wiki
  • Weather Information
  • Announcements
  • Latest News
  • Women's Cell
  • Research Overview
  • Sustainable Tech. Research
  • Socially Relevant Research
  • Sponsored Programmes
  • Dr. Tapan K. Sengupta
  • Dr. Amey Karkare
  • Dr. Bharat Lohani
  • Major Research Areas
  • R & D History
  • Publications
  • Interesting Videos
  • SandHI Initiative
  • INVENT Social Incubation Program
  • IITK Faculty
  • Research Highlights
  • Awards & Honours
  • Dr. Amitabha Bandyopadhyay
  • Dr. Niraj Sinha
  • Dr. Nandini Gupta
  • Find An Expert
  • Design & Scientific Officers
  • Featured Facility
  • Teaching blog
  • News & Announcements
  • IITK Research Scholars
  • Education at IITK 
  • Information for Future Students
  • International Students
  • Parents & Families
  • Financial Aid
  • Ph.D / M.Tech / M.Des Admission 2014-15
  • MBA Admission 2016-17
  • Outreach Cell
  • Student Placement Office
  • Tuition Fees
  • Scholarships and Awards
  • Hobby Clubs
  • Entrepreneurship with IITK
  • IITK Courses
  • Foreign Language Prog.
  • Academics at IITK
  • Internship at IITK
  • Consulting Overview
  • Dr. Anoop Singh
  • Dr. S. Bhattacharjee
  • Dr. Koumudi Patil
  • Access Labs & Facilities
  • License technology
  • Sponsor Research
  • Find an Expert
  • NERD Magazine
  • Projects & Case Studies 
  • Innovation at IITK
  • Innovation Highlights
  • Eligibility
  • Success Stories
  • Funding Options
  • Incubated Companies
  • Patents & IPR
  • Incubation Resources
  • Infrastructure Initiatives
  • Awards & Achievements
  • Notable Alumni
  • Office of DoRA
  • IITK Foundation
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Government Services
  • Human Resource and General Administration Section
  • Staff Members
  • Staff Achievements
  • Campus Maps 
  • Staff Training
  • Research Management
  • Culture at IITK
  • Cultural Events at IITK
  • Sports at IITK
  • Sports Facilities
  • Weightlifting
  • Eating Places
  • Recreational Facilities
  • Rock Climbing
  • Cultural Societies
  • Tae Kwon Do
  • Skip to content
  • Jump to main navigation and login

Nav view search

thesis topics for water resources engineering

  • JUser: :_load: Unable to load user with ID: 924

Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering

 

 

- Equipment Click to collapse


- Projects Undertaken Click to collapse

  - Students Click to collapse

G.Ravi Kumar

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Kedar Sharma

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Ribhu Shankar Chaubey

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Md Ayaz

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Ciranjib Chaudhari

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Vikash Kumar Vidyarthi

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Shikha Chourasiya

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Manoj Kumar Diwakar

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Hemanta Medhi

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Pramod Soni

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Pankaj Rai

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Tushar Apurv

13103068

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Suman Deshlahra

13103063

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Sudhendra Mondal

13103062

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Subhadip Das

13103061

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Sruthi C K

13103060

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Alka Tiwari

13103008

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Vishal Mishra

12103067

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

 Sudarshana Mukhopadhyay

12103060

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Mohd Salman Siddiqui

12103036

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Mayank Gangwar

12103035

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Himani Kuniyal

12103023

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Gaurav Misuriya

12103021

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Alok Gupta

12103005

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Yusuf Jamal

11103061

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

Vikash Sharma

Y9103061

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '); //-->

  + - Faculty Members Click to collapse

Dr. Rajesh Srivastava

Dr. Shivam Tripathi

Dr. Ashu Jain

Dr. P. K. Mohapatra

thesis topics for water resources engineering

  • Pyro-Metallurgy Lab
  • Process Research Lab
  • Powder Metallurgy Lab
  • Phase Stability Lab
  • Particulate Materials Lab
  • Metal Working Lab
  • Materials Separation Lab
  • Lab for Biomaterials
  • V M Krushnarao Kotteda
  • Ishita Sengupta
  • Srinivas Dharavath
  • MoU between Dynamatics and institute
  • Media Invite Institute Foundation Day
  • Accessibility
  • Content Submission
  • In Memoriam
  • Hindi Website

Copyright © 2020

Birds at IIT Kanpur

  • Bibliography
  • More Referencing guides Blog Automated transliteration Relevant bibliographies by topics
  • Automated transliteration
  • Relevant bibliographies by topics
  • Referencing guides

IMAGES

  1. List of Water Engineering Dissertation Topics and Titles

    thesis topics for water resources engineering

  2. (PDF) FACULTY OF ENGINEERING WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING FINAL YEAR

    thesis topics for water resources engineering

  3. PPT

    thesis topics for water resources engineering

  4. Thesis

    thesis topics for water resources engineering

  5. (PDF) Water resources engineering

    thesis topics for water resources engineering

  6. Groundwater Engineering

    thesis topics for water resources engineering

VIDEO

  1. Research Topics On Environmental Engineering

  2. ALL ABOUT CIVIL ENGINEERING THESIS (MAGASTOS BA TALAGA?)

  3. 03 Water Resources Engineering (Watershed Water balance) in Arabic

  4. Engineering Capstone Research Project Ideas

  5. 01 Water Resources Engineering (Introduction to Hydrology) in Arabic

  6. Transportation Dissertation Topics

COMMENTS

  1. List of Water Engineering Dissertation Topics and Titles

    To solve this problem our industry specialist have prepared a list of some of the best water engineering dissertation ideas that you can use to formulate best water engineering dissertation topics for yourselves. 1.0 A study on the development of an advanced dynamic risk assessment tool based on agent based modelling. A case study of flash floods.

  2. Water Resources Engineering Research

    City Campus Scott Engineering Center 844 N 16th St., C190 Lincoln, NE 68588-0531 Phone: (402) 472-2371 Fax: (402) 472-8934 [email protected] Scott Campus Peter Kiewit Institute

  3. MSc Theses

    MSc Theses. Master theses are primarily offered to Master students of the Environmental Engineering curriculum at D-BAUG. In individual cases, it is also possible for students from D-BAUG Civil Engineering and other departments (e.g. D-USYS) and/or universities to carry out their Master thesis at the Chair. General information about the Master ...

  4. Water Resources

    Water resources management. 1. Water Resources Management : Developing optimum operational strategies for pumped-storage hydropower system. 2. Climate Change Impact Studies : While temperature increases significantly snowmelt-runoff peak time (Center time) shifts earlier.

  5. water resources research

    Water resources is an important sub-discipline of civil engineering that includes hydraulic engineering, surface water and groundwater hydrology, water resources systems analysis, contaminant transport, and environmental fluid mechanics. Common to all of these areas of study is the goal of understanding the physical processes responsible for the distribution of water in natural and engineered ...

  6. 138874 PDFs

    Aug 2024. Xu Liu. In the evolving field of water environment, hydrology, and water resources engineering, advanced water treatment techniques have emerged as pivotal elements in addressing ...

  7. Water Resources Engineering Thesis Topics

    This document discusses some of the challenges students face in selecting water resources engineering thesis topics, and provides potential solutions. Selecting a thesis topic can be difficult due to the wide range of topics within the field and complexity of issues. Conducting thorough research and balancing academic responsibilities can also be challenging. However, seeking assistance from ...

  8. Bachelor & Master Theses

    Bachelor & Master Theses and Study Projects. Dear students! this page introduces the different fields of research at the chair and possible topics for students theses. We kindly ask you to inform yourself on the topics and if you are interested contact the person stated below each topic. We hope to see you soon!

  9. Dissertations

    2011-2012. BURT, MURRAY : Evaluation of demand led biosand filter programme in complex emergency context of Afghanistan. CHEGKAZI, KATERINA : Three-Pot household water treatment system - testing the effectiveness. DUBE, ADDISE AMADO : Rethinking sustainable latrine use through human behaviour change and local capacity development.

  10. PDF MASTER's THESIS

    Integrated Water Resources Management Cologne University of Applied Sciences ITT - Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics "Integrated Management of Ecosystem Services Using Treated Wastewater: A Case Study at Upper Zarqa River, Jordan" Thesis to Obtain the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE

  11. PDF Thesis Integrated Water Resources Management Under Uncertainty

    THESIS . INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT UNDER UNCERTAINTY: EXPLORING INTERCONNECTED TECHNOLOGICAL, INFRASTRUCTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL SOLUTIONS . Submitted by . Benjamin Wostoupal . Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering . In partial fulfillment of the requirements . For the Degree of Master of Science . Colorado State University

  12. Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

    Chlorine Taste Threshold and Acceptability as a Water Disinfectant Among Indigenous Ngäbe and Non-Indigenous in Rural Panama, Ashley Osler. PDF. Coral Reef Restoration Monitoring Through an Environmental Engineering and Social-Ecological Lens, Michelle C. Platz. PDF. Effects of Slurry Type on Drilled Shaft Strength, Cesar Quesada Garcia. PDF

  13. Thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Advanced Studies in

    PDF | On Jan 1, 2020, Pablo Acuña Paolo Torres published Thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Advanced Studies in Sustainable Water Resources "MODELING THE HYDROLOGICAL RESPONSE OF A ...

  14. Updated List of Water Engineering Research Topics and Titles

    Order Your Water Resources Thesis Topics with Expert Assistance. The water resources engineering research topics emphasize on practical water executives, ... This discipline's primary job in water engineering thesis topics is to explore long-distance water supply the board ways. Topics may include coordinated water asset planning ...

  15. PDF WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING

    Academic thesissubmitted to Lund University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D. Engineering). The thesis will be publically defended at the Department of Building and Environmental Technology, John Ericssons väg 1, lecture hall V:Brand, Thursday, September 27, 2012, at 10:15 a.m.

  16. Water Resources Engineering

    Water resources engineering includes hydrologic, groundwater and hydraulic analysis of the planning and design of remediation, flood control, and water supply. It also includes different types of ...

  17. Advances in Water Resources Engineering and Management

    This book comprises select papers presented at the International Conference on Trends and Recent Advances in Civil Engineering (TRACE 2018). The book covers inter-disciplinary research and applications in integrated water resource management, river ecology, irrigation system, water pollution and treatment, hydraulic structure and hydro-informatics.

  18. Dissertations / Theses: 'Water-supply engineering'

    Consult the top 50 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Water-supply engineering.'. Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago ...

  19. Shodhganga@INFLIBNET: An Integrated Study of Water Resources Management

    Engineering Engineering and Technology Engineering Civil: University: Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi: Completed Date: 2021: Abstract: Water resources management is inter-linked with diverse sectors such as land use/land cover, newlineagriculture, energy, environment and socio-economic conditions of the society. ...

  20. Water Resources Research Priorities for the Future

    The pressing nature of water resource problems was set forth in Chapter 1.The solution to these problems is necessarily sought in research—inquiry into the basic natural and societal processes that govern the components of a given problem, combined with inquiry into possible methods for solving these problems.

  21. Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering

    Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering. Research Areas. The Research Programs Span a Range of Topics Required to Address Problems in the Fields of Hydrology, Environment Science, Fluid Mechanics, Modelling, Numerical Analysis, Computational Science, and other Disciplines Required by Engineers, Managers, and Scientists.

  22. Dissertations / Theses: 'Water resource engineering'

    Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Water resource engineering' To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Water resource engineering. Author: Grafiati. Published: 19 February 2023 Last updated: 20 February 2023 Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles ...