Water Resources and Environmental Engineering has become an extremely important and popular branch of Civil Engineering at KFUPM, primarily due to the emphasis placed in developing the water resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and caring for its environment. While offering strong graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science, Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy, research is geared towards solving the problems of the Kingdom in the areas of water resources and the environment. Some of these problems are related to the design and/or operation of water and wastewater treatment systems, the management of solid and hazardous waste facilities, water planning and management, and the analysis of hydraulics of surface and ground waters.

The faculty members in this option have been very active in conducting funded research projects from several funding agencies including KACST and the local industry. Over the years, several areas of excellence have developed in the fields of wastewater reuse, industrial pollution control, solid and hazardous waste management, groundwater recharge and the modeling of contaminant transport.