Increases in irrigation requirements, urban populations, aquatic recreation, commercial fishing, aquaculture, and shipping have placed a strain on much of the world’s water resources. Faced with the often-conflicting demands of human society and the natural world, bioenvironmental and water resources engineers probe for new ways people can coexist with nature and endeavor to find workable solutions to practical environmental problems. To this end, they focus on all aspects of surface and ground water resources and the interaction between land use, water use, and water quality.

The bioenvironmental and water resources engineering program offers graduate students the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to this effort. In the course of their studies, they may focus on problems and solutions involving agricultural land drainage and water quality, soil erosion issues, the transport and fate of pesticides and nutrients, or the pollution potential of onsite wastewater treatment systems. Mathematical and computer modeling and use of such technologies as geographic information systems (GIS) to assess hydrologic and water quality responses of mixed land-use watersheds constitute potential graduate research opportunities.

Students may work with faculty and students in other university departments and units, such as the Remote Sensing Laboratory of the Civil Engineering Department, the UM Center for Environmental Science, and the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences. Students also have an opportunity to collaborate with scientists at area agencies and organizations, including USDA’s Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.

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