Water resources engineering

UNIT – I

Chapter - 1(E)

WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING

WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING – AN OVERVIEW

Water resources engineering generally deals with the provision of water for human use. It also deals with the development of techniques for the prevention of destruction from floods. It includes the planning and management of facilities that are constructed for tasks like making canals for irrigation and sewers for drainage and to avoid waterlogging. It also includes all other issues related with the judicious usage of water resources. The development and management of water resources are essential for human survival and prosperity.

Water resources engineering deals with related infrastructure of a city, region, or nation that includes river regulation structures, wells for pumping ground water, storage and conveyance facilities, treatment plants, water distribution networks, wastewater management systems, flood damage reduction measures, erosion mitigation practices, storm water drainage system, bridges, hydroelectric power plants and other constructed facilities.

Hydrology is the backbone of water resources engineering. It means the science of water that deals with the occurrence, circulation and distribution of water of the earth and earth's atmosphere. It draws support from related sciences, such as meteorology, geology, statistics, chemistry, physics and fluid mechanics. Hence, hydrology is a very broad subject of an inter-disciplinary nature. Based on its application, it is classified as,

(i) Scientific hydrology - the study which is concerned mainly with academic aspects.

(ii) Engineering or applied hydrology - a study concerned mainly with engineering applications.

In a general sense, engineering hydrology deals with (i) estimation of water resources, (ii) the study of processes such as precipitation, runoff, evaporation and their interaction and (iii) the study of problems such as floods and droughts, and strategies to combat them.