Hydrologic engineering is a field of engineering that manages and regulates different water-based resources. It also goes by the names hydrological engineering or water resources engineering, and it involves developing systems for the distribution, circulation, and movement of water. The goal of sewage treatment and distribution by hydrological engineers is to keep sewage safely away from a city’s or state’s water supplies. Some engineers may also focus on the requirements for natural water distribution.
What differentiates hydrology from hydraulics?
In general, the study of rainfall and water in relation to geography and geology is referred to as hydrology.
Hydraulics is more focused on physics, the study of how liquids move in relation to fields like fluid dynamics and Fluid Mechanics, etc.
History of hydrologic engineering
Hydrology has been studied and engineered for millennia. Basin irrigation was invented by the ancient Egyptians, who used hydrology in engineering and agriculture. High earthen walls protected Mesopotamian towns from flooding. Greeks and Romans built aqueducts, while the Chinese built irrigation and flood control systems. The ancient Sinhalese invented the Valve Pit to build large reservoirs, anicuts, and canals in Sri Lanka using hydrology.
Marcus Vitruvius’ first-century BC hydrologic cycle theory held that mountain precipitation infiltrated the Earth’s surface and created streams and springs in the lowlands. Leonardo da Vinci and Bernard Palissy independently represented the hydrologic cycle scientifically. Quantifying hydrologic variables began in the 17th century.
Pierre Perrault, Edme Mariotte, and Edmund Halley founded hydrology. Perrault showed that rainfall could account for Seine flow by measuring rainfall, runoff, and drainage area. Mariotte measured Seine discharge using velocity and river cross-section. Halley demonstrated that Mediterranean Sea evaporation could explain river outflow into the sea.
Henri Pitot’s Pitot tube and Daniel Bernoulli’s piezometer and equation were 18th-century advances. Darcy’s law, the Dupuit-Thiem well formula, and Hagen-Poiseuille’s capillary flow equation were developed in 19th-century groundwater hydrology.
In the 20th century, rational analyses replaced empiricism and government agencies began hydrological research. Leroy Sherman’s unit hydrograph, Robert E. Horton’s infiltration theory, and C.V. Theis’ well hydraulics test/equation were crucial. Hydrology has become more theoretical since the 1950s due to advances in the physical understanding of hydrological processes and the advent of computers and GIS. Nowadays hydrology and water resource engineering is one of the top fields in the world.
Types that cover the Hydrologic Engineering
- Water supply management
- River management
- Wastewater treatment
- Flood prevention
- Flood damage management
- Drought prevention
- Rural water usage monitoring
- Urban water circulation
- Coast protection
- Watershed sustainability
- Sewage leak prevention
- Flood mapping
- Shoreline maintenance
- Estuary strategizing
- Sediment transporting
Hydrological cycle
The hydrological cycle also referred to as the “water cycle” is the standard system for recycling water on Earth. Water evaporates as a result of solar radiation, typically from the ocean, lakes, etc. As a result of transpiration, water also evaporates from plant leaves. The steam is cooling, condenses, and returns to the land and the sea as precipitation as it rises in the atmosphere. Rainfall forms the surface of the earth as surface water, creating streams of water that eventually become lakes and rivers. Aquifers are created when some of the precipitating water seeps into the ground and flows downward through incisions. A portion of the surface and underground water finally flows into the sea. Water undergoes all phases of transformation during this journey: gas, liquid, and solid. As previously stated, water constantly transitions between the states of liquid, vapor, and ice. These transitions can take place in a matter of seconds or over the course of millions of years.
Components of the Hydrological Cycle
The following is a list of the primary elements of the hydrological cycle:
- Precipitation: Rain, drizzle, snow, and other types of water that fall from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth are included.
- Evaporation: The physical procedure that turns water from the land and water on the surface of the earth into vapour is referred to Evaporation.
- Transpiration: It describes the process by which plants absorb water from the soil through their roots and release it back into the atmosphere through their leaves, through tiny pores known as stomata.
- Evapotranspiration: It involves the transfer of water to the atmosphere from both water sources and vegetation and combines the processes of evaporation and transpiration.
- Infiltration: It describes how water moves from the surface of the ground to the deeper soil layers.
- Percolation: It speaks of how water moves from the subsurface to the water table.
- Overland Flow: It speaks of the runoff that enters a stream or river channel through the ground’s surface.
- Surface Runoff: It includes both precipitations that flows into a stream or river channel as well as all overland flow.
What exactly am I supposed to do on the job?
You’ll aid in the resolution of design and operational issues plaguing engineering endeavors concerned with the management or utilization of water. In order to do this, you will need to perform watershed studies and collect data on factors including soil infiltration, runoff, flood frequency, erosion, and sedimentation. Along with helping with permit applications, you’ll be modeling reservoir systems and hydroelectric systems. Among the instruments available for usage are flow sensors and ground penetrating radar.
What other similar careers exist?
Scientists who research the Earth’s physical properties and makeup are called geoscientists. They go out into the field, collect data, and then draw maps and write up their findings. Geologists, oceanographers, seismologists, geophysicists, and geochemists are just a few examples of the many sub-disciplines that make up the broader field of geoscience. Land restoration, environmental protection, and resource extraction are all possible areas of interest. A bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in the relevant discipline.
Surveyor data can complement findings and findings presented by hydrologists and other geoscientists. Real estate transactions and building projects might benefit from surveyors’ precise measurements and documentation of property lines. Bodies of water and other topographical features might be used as reference points for such calculations. Surveyors often need a bachelor’s degree in a related field.
Learn More What is Quantity Surveying
How much Hydrological engineer can earn?
In the field of hydrology and water resource engineering, According to erieri website , In the United States, the average salary for a hydraulic engineer is $107,799 per year, or $52 per hour. A Hydrologic Engineer can expect to make between $74,489 and $131,407 annually. The highest level of education typically required for a position as a hydraulic engineer is a master’s degree. This analysis of compensation is based on salary survey data gathered from anonymous employees and employers in the United States.
How to become a hydrological engineer?
Before beginning their careers, hydrological engineers must fulfill a number of requirements. These place a strong emphasis on education, particularly specialised hydrological engineering courses. Depending on your area and your specialty, you might also require a number of licenses. These requirements include:
Bachelor of Science degree
A BS in engineering or a related field is typically required for positions in hydrological engineering. You can also study civil, agricultural, biological, environmental, and ecological engineering if your school doesn’t offer a hydrological engineering degree.
Master of Science degree
A Master of Science in an engineering discipline related to hydrologic engineering is often required for these positions. You can study civil, biological, environmental, agricultural, and ecological engineering in place of hydrological engineering if your school doesn’t offer it.
Professional Engineering license
Before beginning a career, engineers in all fields obtain a Professional Engineering, or PE, license. Exams on topics like surveying and seismic shifts are frequently included in these tests.
What skills help with hydrological engineering?
When we enter in to hydrology and water resource engineering. Professionally, hydrological engineers use a wide variety of abilities. Among these are:
- Analytical skills: Throughout their work, hydrologists collect data on things like water demands and reservoir storage limits. When making engineering decisions, such as preparing for potential stress failures, they analyze this data.
- Communication skills: To carry out their duties, hydrological engineers collaborate with a variety of people, including construction experts. Excellent communication abilities enable them to discuss and carry out their designs more effectively.
- Critical thinking skills: Hydrologists who possess strong critical thinking abilities can better their projects by coming up with better solutions and planning for potential risks. These capabilities assist hydrological engineers in developing plans for floods, droughts, and general water management.
- Mathematic skills: To perform calculations, engineers need to have a strong math foundation. Additionally, they must be proficient in algebra because doing so will enable them to plan for unforeseen factors in their designs.
- Physical stamina: Engineers may spend a lot of time in offices, but they may also work on-site when a project is being carried out. Their ability to focus and stay active while working is facilitated by their physical stamina.
Application of hydrologic engineering
Engineering hydrology’s (hydrology and water resource engineering) primary uses are:
- Hydrology offers direction on how to manage and plan for water resources effectively.
- Calculates precipitation, surface runoff, and rainfall.
- It establishes the water balance for a specific area.
- It reduces and forecasts the region’s risk of flooding, landslides, and drought.
- It calculates the river basins’ potential for providing water resources.
- Facilitates flood forecasting and warning in real-time.
- By establishing a connection between the catchment’s surface water and groundwater resources, hydrology analyses the variations seen in the catchments.
- Hydrology researches the required reservoir volume for irrigation and municipal water supply needs in times of drought.
- It is employed in the construction and maintenance of hydraulic structures.
- Hydropower is produced using it.
- Brings strategies for reducing sedimentation and erosion.
Uses of hydrologic engineering
Calculating the Highest Likely Flood
The maximum likely flood that can occur at a specific location can be determined with the aid of hydrology research. In order to design hydraulic structures like dams, reservoirs, channels, and other flood control structures, its frequency must also be established.
Calculating a basin’s water yield
The quantity, frequency, and occurrence of water that can be produced from a basin must be determined for the design of dams, municipal water supply systems, river navigation, etc. The study of hydrology involves this.
Research the development of groundwater
Understanding the hydrogeology of the region aids in comprehending how groundwater development affects recharge facilities like reservoirs and streams, the climate, crop patterns, and other factors.
Determining the storm’s maximum intensity
The maximum storm intensity has an impact on drainage project design, which is thoroughly researched in hydrology.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed the meaning of the term “hydrologic engineering,” as well as its beginnings and development, its various applications and uses, and the steps that are required to become a hydrologic engineer. When it comes to the term hydrology and water resource engineering, Engineers who specialize in hydrology are extremely important to society because they use cutting-edge technology to monitor water supplies, identify floods and droughts, and manage extreme weather events. Engineers who work in the field of hydrology and apply cutting-edge methods to their work can contribute to the creation of a more promising future.
