Water Resources Management Specialization

Specialization Definition

Managing water resources involves ensuring reliable quantities of water of acceptable quality, while simultaneously maintaining or restoring the ecological functioning of water bodies that supply these amenities (along with other socially important values - esthetic, recreational, and biological). Beyond its direct importance as a resource, water is a pervasive issue in many environmental problems. These environmental problems require new levels of understanding to be developed through non-traditional approaches involving professionals knowledgeable about the atmosphere, surface and ground water, rivers, and the processes that generate, transport, and store chemical and biological materials that society is concerned about. Bren School graduates with a specialization in Water Resources Management (WRM) should be able to participate in the grand water-related issues of the type referred to above, either by providing the critical new knowledge for solving problems, or by guiding policy development or management decisions concerning the problems that society finds very difficult to solve.

This specialization is directed towards students who plan to address issues related to water quantity and quality. Water resources issues span many scales, from local drinking water or surf zone quality, to large-scale watershed management for water supply, flood and erosion control, to protection of aquatic systems for wildlife and other beneficial uses. In addition to a strong background in hydrologic processes, a professional needs to understand the biogeochemical processes in the watershed and receiving water bodies, the economics of natural resources, as well as the myriad policies, laws and regulations that pertain to water resources and their stewardship. Given the spatial nature of these processes, a professional needs to be familiar with GIS tools, remote sensing, spatial data analysis and modeling. We provide examples of water resources management, although you are welcome to create your own based on our recommendations.

Course Work

Students pursuing the WRM specialization will take at least two of the following courses if they want their training to focus primarily on management of water quality:

ESM 222: Fate and Transport of Pollutants (Keller)

ESM 223: Mgmt of Soil and Water Quality (Keller)

ESM 235: Watershed Analysis (Dunne) [Biennial]

Students with an emphasis on water supply should take at least two of the following courses:

ESM 234: River Systems (Dunne) [Biennial]

ESM 235: Watershed Analysis (Dunne) [Biennial]

Geol 173/173L: Groundwater Hydrology or Geog 246: Advanced Hydrologic Modeling

ALL students pursuing the WRM specialization should also take at least two of the following classes to develop technical skills:

ESM 232: Environmental Modeling (Costello) [Biennial]

ESM 261: Management of Scientific Data (Frew) [Biennial]

ESM 263: GIS (Frew)

ESM 266: Remote Sensing (Dozier) [Biennial]

Geog 274/274L: Geographical Data Analysis

With guidance from the advisor, students select three to four additional courses appropriate for the specialization and their particular background, goals, and interests. At least two of these courses should build scientific depth and at least one should provide greater understanding of economics, policy, planning and/or management.

The following ESM courses are useful to round out your Water Resources background:

ESM 213: Ecological Effects of Pollutants (Marwood)

ESM 214/214L: Bioremediation (Holden) [Biennial]

ESM 217: Restoration Ecology

ESM 217: Restoration Ecology (Lenihan) [Biennial]

ESM 219/219L: Microbial Processes in the Environment (Holden) [Biennial]

ESM 220: Ecological Risk Assessment (Marwood)

ESM 236: The Mountain Snowpack (Dozier) [Biennial]

ESM 253: Ecology of Lakes and Wetlands (Melack)

ESM 257: Coastal Marine Policy (McGinnis)

ESM 595D: Watershed Quality Modeling & Mgmt Seminar (Keller) [Biennial]

ESM 595F: Advances in Pollution Prevention Seminar (Keller) [Biennial]

The POS may be completed using other curriculum opportunities that may be valuable for students in WRM depending upon the specific topic of focus.

ESM 430, 435, 436: Workshops in Environmental Science and Management

ESM 595A-Z: Seminars/Group Studies in Env Science and Management

ESM 294, 296, 297 & 299: Advanced Topics

We recommend that students in WRM consider the following courses to understand the economics and policy issues associate with water resources:

ESM 242: Natural Resources Economics and Policy (Costello)

ESM 243: Environmental Policy Analysis (Kolstad)

ESM 245: Cost Benefit Analysis (Bento)

ESM 259: The Role of Law of Coastal Zone Management (Osherenko)

ESM 275: Principles and Practice of Environmental Planning (Wask) [Biennial]

ESM 286: Environmental Risk—Assessment, Valuation, & Mgmt (Moore)

There are a number of courses in other departments that may be of value for students pursuing a WRM program of study. For example, students should assess offerings in Geography and Geology. The following courses in other departments are most often included in WRM students’ programs of study:

Geog 207: Biogoechemistry of the Soil Environment

Geog 208: Water Resources Systems Planning

Geog 246: Advanced Hydrologic Modeling

Geol 124A: Aqueous Geochemistry

Geol 169: Tracer Hydrology

Geol 173/173L: Groundwater Hydrology

Sample programs of study (POS) can be found at: http://www.bren.ucsb.edu/services/student/index.html.

These are only examples to help guide students in developing their own POS. The specific courses included will differ depending on an individual’s unique background, interests, and goals!

Career Opportunities

These are examples of organizations that seek WRM graduates:

Regulators /

Regulated Community

/

Consulting

Army Corps of Engineers / Wastewater treatment / Water quality (pollution prevention, treatment, site remediation)
Dept of Interior / Private firms (food, chemical, electronics, entertainment, etc.) / Soil contamination (site remediation)
State EPAs, DNRs, etc. / Water Conservation Districts / Risk analysis
Regional Water Quality Control Boards / Dept of Defense / Regulatory aspects (permitting)
Flood Control District /

Dept of Energy

/ Legal support (permitting, litigation)
Local Agencies
Fish & Wildlife