The Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Department has a long history. It originated from the Huaihe River Hydropower School, which was established in 1952 by the Huaihe River Water Conservancy Committee of the Ministry of Water Resources. In 1975, it became the Department of Water Resources at Hefei University of Technology. In 1982, 1984, and 1986, it was granted master's degree programs in Hydraulic Structure Engineering, Hydrology and Water Resources, and Hydraulics and River Dynamics, respectively. In 2011, based on a primary discipline in Civil Engineering, it independently established a secondary discipline for a doctoral degree in Water Resources Engineering and Structures, which includes three sub-disciplines: Hydraulic Geotechnical Engineering, Hydraulic Structures, and Water Resources and Water Environment Engineering. The Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering major offered by this department successfully passed national engineering education program accreditation in 2013 and 2019, with both accreditations having a validity period of 6 years. In 2020, it was selected as one of the first batch of national-level first-class undergraduate programs (Double First-Class Initiative).

The department is responsible for teaching core courses for two undergraduate programs: Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, and Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering. It is also involved in academic and research tasks for these two programs. The main teaching courses include subjects such as Hydraulic Structures, Construction of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Reinforced Concrete Structures in Water Resources Engineering, Hydraulic Steel Structures, Hydropower Stations, Engineering Hydrology, Water Resources Planning and Utilization, Project Management and Engineering Economics, Hydraulic System Engineering, Hydraulic Innovation Training, Foundations of Hydrogeology, Hydraulic Testing, Principles of Hydrology, Hydrological Forecasting, Civil Engineering Drawing B(1), Physical Geography, Meteorology, Hydrological Statistics, Hydrological Disasters, Water Environmental Chemistry, Groundwater Dynamics, Stochastic Hydrology, Engineering Geology, and Specialized Hydrogeology, among others. The department also supervises internships, comprehensive professional training, course designs, and graduation projects for students in both programs. Over the years, it has cultivated a number of excellent graduates in water resources and produced many outstanding talents with strong theoretical foundations and practical abilities in water resources management. These graduates are now serving various engineering, scientific research, and teaching fields, including water resources, environmental protection, power, energy, geology, and civil engineering.

As of July 2021, the department boasts a strong faculty with 21 full-time teachers, including 5 professors, 6 associate professors, and 10 lecturers. 95% of the teaching staff hold doctoral degrees. The department has four discipline development platforms, three provincial-level experimental platforms, and nearly 10,000 square meters of experimental centers and related equipment. They have over 50 authorized invention patents. In recent years, the department has undertaken nearly a hundred national, provincial, and ministerial-level scientific research projects, published over 100 high-quality academic papers, and authored more than 20 specialized books.

Adhering to the characteristics of a solid foundation in the discipline, strong in innovation and practice, wide space for development, and broad service to society in the cultivation of professional talents, the department proactively adapts to the needs of new era talent development. It places an emphasis on fostering students' practical and innovative abilities, striving to produce well-rounded graduates with a solid theoretical foundation and comprehensive qualities, making a significant contribution to talent cultivation, scientific research, and social services in the field of water resources engineering.

The main research directions include:

1. Water Resources System Engineering and Water Resource Security: Research areas include intelligent water resource system engineering, assessment and early warning of regional water resource system carrying capacity, prevention and control of floods and droughts, optimization and management of pumped storage power stations, optimization and allocation of water resources in large irrigation areas, small and medium-sized river management, ecological protection of inland waterways, optimized regulation and control of ecological water supply in urban areas, rural ecological river construction, groundwater control and remediation technologies, the simulation and regulation of the strictest water resource system, and the development and utilization of groundwater resources.

2. Stability Analysis and Safety Monitoring of Reservoirs and Dams throughout Their Entire Life Cycle: Research focuses on the safety monitoring theories and technologies of hydraulic structures such as dams and sluices during their life cycles (construction and operation periods), stability analysis and reinforcement theories and technologies for dam bodies, dam foundations, reservoir banks, hydraulic tunnels, and the safety evaluation theories and technologies of seismic resistance throughout the life cycle of hydraulic structures.

3. Hydraulic Optimization Calculations and Hydraulic Information Technology: Research is primarily focused on the theoretical analysis and experimental simulation of hydrodynamics in rivers and lakes, the simulation of river ice jams, hydrodynamics in river and lake environments, hydraulic and process optimization simulation and analysis in water resources engineering, as well as information technology applications in water resources.

4. Ecological Hydropower and Smart Water Resources: Research includes water environmental protection and pollution control technologies, non-point source pollution interception technologies, environmental impact assessment and planning, water ecological restoration, the development and utilization of unconventional water sources, as well as applications of intelligent science and digital science in water resources.

Leadership:

- Director: Yuliang Zhou

- Branch Secretary: Yanqiao Wang