The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) now offers a Water Resources in Engineering Management (WREM) track within the Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering program.
The WREM track will prepare students with the necessary abilities to understand and manage resources in a water-scarce world. It will be led by WREM Coordinator and Clinical Professor Ivonne Santiago, Ph.D., and Edmund Archuleta, director of water initiatives at UTEP.
“The long-term vision for this program is to prepare engineers to solve complex problems in an increasing water-short world and to establish UTEP as a preferred university to study water,” Archuleta said. “UTEP is already a well-known leader in water resources with a diversified research and teaching portfolio in desalination, reuse, advanced water treatment, sustainability and related topics. This degree will provide the student with the important engineering and management tools to work in various facets of either the private or public sector.”
Across the developing world, there is a shortage of fresh water supplies free from pollution and there continues to be a lack of development of these resources. Given its geographic location in the Chihuahuan Desert and need for integrated water resources, the El Paso region is perfectly situated for students to study and learn about the need for water sustainability.
While there have been continuous education advances in the field of water use and desalination, there is a need to better define the water resource curriculum to meet today’s challenges and expected future challenges so that our water resource workforce is better prepared at the technical and management level.
Out of necessity, El Paso has had to diversify its water resource plans. The city has been successful in developing and implementing water conservation, ground water management, surface water rights, reclaimed water use and desalination.
“Water resources management is a critical need across the U.S. and the world,” said Richard Schoephoerster, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering. “El Paso and UTEP have developed unique expertise in this area, and this program will help to share our expertise and knowledge. I am very grateful for Ed Archuleta’s leadership and the effort of the faculty to get this program off the ground.”
For more information, contact Ivonne Santiago at isantiago@utep.edu or 915-747-8478.