CE 351 Water Resources Engineering

Dr. David Brandes
Office: AEC 320, hours TBA
Phone: 330-5441
E-mail: brandesd@lafayette.edu
(you are encouraged to use e-mail for questions on homework or lab if I am not in my office)

Water resources engineering involves the analysis and design of systems that control the quantity and quality of water to meet the needs of humans and the environment. Water resources engineering has been happening for thousands of years, since water is such a fundamental need of society. The engineers that founded ASCE in 1852 had just completed work on a large water project, the Croton Aqueduct, a tunnel that first brought water to New York City. Water resources issues affect other branches of civil engineering, such as the design of roadways and bridges. For example, flooding and its erosion of bridge foundations is the most common cause of highway bridge failures.


The course is based on the fundamentals of fluid mechanics previously learned in CE 251 (click here for brief review of important equations), in addition to hydrologic principles. These principles will be applied to water distribution systems, sewer systems, and stormwater management. Surface and groundwater hydrology are also covered briefly, as well as statistical methods related to the concept of return periods and probability. Weekly laboratories will include lab experiments in hydraulics, computer analysis, and field studies.


Large water resources projects, such as the New York City water system and management of the Delaware River, often have significant political, social, and environmental aspects in addition to technical challenges. We will view several videotapes that illustrate these issues. Each student will also write a research paper on a topic of their choice related to water resources engineering (more info here).


1) The hydraulics lab; 2) Measuring streamflow of Bushkill Creek