Watersheds and Water Quality Research Lab

Welcome to the Watersheds and Water Quality Research Lab of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Mississippi State University.

Our research program is focused on:

• Surface and Subsurface Hydrology
• Soil and Water Quality Monitoring
• Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment and Control
• Soil and Fluvial Erosion and Sediment Transport Processes
• Streams and Watershed Management and Restoration
• Channel and Watershed Modeling
• Eco-Hydraulic and Water Quality Modeling
• Environmental Software Development
• Sensitivity and Uncertainty Assessment of Environmental Models

We use a combination of lab and field scale, and computational modeling studies to examine and evaluate:

• Responses and interactions among agricultural, hydrological (surface and groundwater), and human systems
• Effects of natural and anthropogenic drivers (climate variability and change, watershed land use change, agricultural production, soil and nutrient loading) on environmental systems and natural resources
• Hydrological, watershed & channel evolution models to support hypothesis testing and the conservation, management, and restoration of natural resources
• Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of hydrological, watershed and channel evolution modeling systems

Currently, our experimental laboratory is the Catalpa Creek Watershed. Our research efforts are supporting hydrologic, hydraulic and ecological assessments of the watershed targeting the implementation of a Water Resources Management Plan for watershed sustainability recently evaluated and approved by MDEQ and EPA. Management practices have been identified to address the agricultural resource concerns related for the watershed (e.g. sedimentation, grazing lands, sustainable forestry, and declining wildlife habitats), and the need for sustainable urban storm water management in the headwaters of the drainage area. Analyses and designs are being considered to restore the structure and function of Catalpa Creek and to mitigate downstream storm water impacts.