Water and environmental engineering
Water and environmental engineering designs systems for water supply, wastewater treatment, drainage and pollution control. It protects public health and ecosystems while meeting the demands of cities, industry and agriculture. Water Nexus stewards this page for the Nexus Consortium.
- 01InstitutionThe Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
- 02Service levelR0: information and enquiries
- 03In briefThe short answer
- 04The methodWhat water and environmental engineering covers
- 05Reference practiceEnvironmental engineering follows water quality and sanitation standards
- 06In systemic risk workTreatment systems under stress
- 07Applied inPlatforms that apply this method
GCRI · Institution · service level R0
The short answer.
Water and environmental engineering designs systems for water supply, wastewater treatment, drainage and pollution control. Environmental engineering connects hydrological hazards to service continuity and public health. In the Nexus Consortium, Water Nexus stewards its canonical page, and 4 other platforms apply it, including Food Nexus as well as Cities and Built Environment.
Water security in California.
Rivers, lakes and how far each division sits from mapped surface water, shown for California as an example geography for this subject.
What water and environmental engineering covers.
- 01
Core methods
water distribution modelling; treatment process design; urban drainage modelling; contaminant transport modelling; environmental impact assessment; water safety planning.
- 02
Data and instruments
water quality monitoring; flow and pressure sensors; treatment plant records; drainage asset inventories; pollution emission inventories.
- 03
Validation
Designs are verified against regulatory standards and pilot testing. Network models are calibrated with field pressure and flow measurements.
- 04
Limits
Ageing assets and incomplete records limit model accuracy. Emerging contaminants and changing rainfall patterns challenge existing designs.
- 05
Use in risk decisions
Environmental engineering connects hydrological hazards to service continuity and public health. It informs investment in water infrastructure that supports food, energy and urban resilience.
Environmental engineering follows water quality and sanitation standards.
| Reference | What it sets |
|---|---|
| WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality | Water safety plans and quality targets |
| SDG 6 indicators | Safely managed water and sanitation |
| ISO 24500 series | Drinking water and wastewater services |
Treatment systems under stress.
Water and wastewater treatment, solid waste and pollution control are designed for normal loads. Floods overwhelm combined sewers; droughts concentrate pollutants; power cuts stop pumping. Environmental engineering assesses performance under these stresses and the public health consequences.
- Assess treatment performance during floods and droughts.
- Include power dependence of pumping.
- Link failures to health outcomes.
- Applications on Water Nexus and Cities and Built Environment.
Platforms that apply this method.
Who maintains this page.
Water Nexus stewards water and environmental engineering: it keeps this description current and reviews how the method is applied across the platforms.
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Multiple-barrier approach | Protecting drinking water through successive controls, from source protection to treatment, disinfection and network integrity, so one failure does not reach the tap. |
| Design storm | A rainfall event of stated duration and return period used to size drains, culverts and treatment capacity. |
| Combined sewer overflow | A discharge of untreated wastewater and stormwater from a combined sewer when heavy rain exceeds its capacity. |
| Drainage | Removal of excess surface and subsurface water from farmland, which also prevents waterlogging and salinisation. |
Where this page's references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Where this page leads across the Consortium.
- Water and environmental engineeringGCRIApplied in Water Nexus.
- Water and environmental engineering for food systemsGCRIApplied in Food Nexus.
- Environmental engineering for citiesGCRIApplied in Cities and Built Environment.
- Coastal engineeringGCRIApplied in Oceans and Coasts.
- Environmental engineering for industryGCRIApplied in Advanced Industry and Robotics.
Questions and answers.
Why does one institution host every method page?
How do I suggest a correction to a method page?
Around GCRI.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.