Hydraulic Engineering

Hydraulic engineering is a branch of civil engineering that studies the flow of fluids, especially water. This branch of engineering studies the water in motion and the interactions between it and the surrounding environment. Engineers specialising in this field are mostly designing bridges, dams, canals or channels. The hydraulic structures such an engineer designs are based on the principles of fluid dynamics. Hydraulic engineers develop and apply technologies for adapting and managing land and water resources, so that these resources are used in rural, urban and industrial areas. Rural areas benefit from irrigation, drainage and flood protection projects developed by hydraulic engineers.  They install, improve or maintain the water management systems. The requirements of each project depend on population growth and living standards in the area for which projects are developed.

The focus of society in the last century has turned to sustainability and this is reflected in the direction hydraulic engineering is currently developing. Hydraulic engineering nowadays implies innovations and research related to improving our environment.

Climate change has a powerful impact on hydrology. Communities are interested in reinforcing their water supplied from sources that are not dependent on climate, so desalination of brackish water or sea water has become a major challenge for hydrological engineering. Engineers can offer services that can process saline water and use it for municipal and industrial applications. They can assess the environmental impact, plan the infrastructure and design the piping, pumping, intake and outfall structures. One such project was developed for the Pimpama Coomera region on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. A range of water supply options was developed to minimize water demand and ecological footprint in the region, combining rainwater tanks, recycled water and potable water for house water demands.

The Wimmera Irrigation area in north-west Victoria, Australia will benefit from a modernization plan designed to increase the efficiency of the irrigation system. The area covers 3000ha in north-west Victoria and needs irrigation for the horticulture, pasture and livestock production. Hydraulic engineers have to reconfigure the distribution system, lining of channels, channel covering and automation of supply systems. This modernization plan is part of the Water for the Future Australian government program, a program that assists rural communities in improving the productivity of water use and management.

An innovative project for the Wellington Dam Spillway resulted in an upgrade of the Wellington Dam near Collie, south western Australia. Hydraulic engineers used analytical predictions and scale modeling together with computational fluid dynamics modeling to produce a design incorporating 28 piers and post tension anchors that will be the strongest in the world. The upgrade will be achieved during 2010.

Another major project for water recycling is the Western Corridor Recycled Water in Australia. This is the largest water recycling scheme in Australia and the third largest in the world. Using secondary wastewater from Brisbane and Ipswich, purified recycled water is produced in a quantity of 232Ml a day. The project reduced the pressure on region dams and waterways and using climate independent water sources provided supply for domestic, commercial and industrial users.