Water Resources
Water is one of our most precious resources, affecting many aspects of our daily lives. Our water resources engineering research program uses advanced computational, laboratory, and field research techniques to improve our understanding of the ways that we interact with water in both natural and built environments. Each of our specific research areas, including water resources planning and management, urban drainage, computational hydraulics, and river ice processes, is focused on developing sustainable engineering solutions to real-world problems.
Water resources engineers deal with the control and utilization of water by society. We study and influence the physical processes of water flow essential to the understanding, protection, and improvement of natural and constructed environments. We develop solutions for flood and drought control, wastewater collection, urban and irrigation water supply, urban drainage, hydroelectric power development and management, river ice issues, and climate change impacts.
Possible Careers
- Water resources management and decision making
- Bridge planning and design
- Water and drainage infrastructure planning and design
- River ice hydraulics and assessment
- Stream restoration and fish habitat design
- Hydropower operations
- Dam safety and management
- Flood and drought forecasting
- Climate change resilience planning
- Hydrological modelling
- Flood risk modelling and mitigation design
- Water policy and governance
- Cumulative impacts assessment
Areas of Specialization
Our water resources engineering research is focused on addressing complex civil engineering problems related to water. Our team of faculty members lead strong research programs in a wide variety of areas. The main areas explored by our researchers are described below.
Water Resources Planning and Management
This research focuses on the "big picture" of water resources, navigating the interactions between human demand, economic growth, and environmental health. By deploying high-fidelity hydrological and water-quality models and integrating multi-scale data, the program provides a quantitative framework to identify risks and manage engineering trade-offs. The research empowers stakeholders with data-driven indicators to evaluate infrastructure and policy in the face of climate volatility and urbanization. Ultimately, the program equips future engineers with the analytical mastery to design resilient, equitable systems that ensure long-term water security while protecting ecological integrity.
Sustainable Urban Drainage and Pollutant Transport
This research area develops "smart," resilient urban drainage systems by integrating traditional fluid mechanics with AI and machine learning. At the intersection of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, the program focuses on pollutant transport—including microplastics—within municipal infrastructure, with specialized expertise in how cold-region seasonal changes affect runoff and water quality. By simulating complex hydraulic processes, this work helps design infrastructure that both mitigates flooding and treats contaminants. Ultimately, these data-driven tools provide decision-makers with the insights needed to protect the ecological health of natural water bodies amidst rapid urbanization and climate change.
River Ice Processes
This research area focuses on the lifecycle of river ice in cold regions, from initial formation to hazardous ice jams. By integrating field monitoring and laboratory studies with advanced hydrodynamic models like River1D (developed at the U of A), researchers simulate ice stability and transport across diverse river geometries. This integrated approach is critical for accurate flood forecasting and the resilient design of infrastructure such as bridges and dams. Additionally, the work provides vital insights into how climate change impacts the ecological health and seasonal rhythms of northern river systems, ensuring environmental and structural protection.
Computational Hydraulics and Hydrologic Modelling
This research area develops mathematical frameworks to simulate water movement across diverse landscapes and channel networks using high-performance computing and advanced numerical methods. By integrating fluid mechanics with data-driven approaches, researchers build models—ranging from 1D river simulations to multi-dimensional catchment scales—to address flood mapping, sediment transport, and land-use impacts. These tools are increasingly coupled with climate data to project future water security and hydrological extremes. Ultimately, this work provides a virtual laboratory for testing water management strategies, ensuring decision-makers can implement resilient, data-backed solutions to protect communities from hydrological hazards.