Water Sustainability

Water is at the center of how communities function and how infrastructure performs, shaping everything from resource availability and system reliability to environmental outcomes and long-term planning. Across industries and regions, water challenges are becoming more complex, making the ability to understand and manage these systems increasingly valuable.

At Colorado School of Mines, the Water Sustainability minor gives you a practical foundation in how water and environmental systems are designed, operated and improved over time. You will examine how engineering decisions influence availability, quality and resilience across natural and built environments and how those choices play out in real-world contexts. Along the way, you will connect technical concepts to broader system performance, learning to evaluate tradeoffs, constraints and long-term system performance. This minor expands your perspective and strengthens your ability to apply engineering thinking to the critical water challenges shaping communities and infrastructure today.

Program Overview

The Water Sustainability minor focuses on core concepts related to hydrology, water quality and engineered water systems. You will learn how water moves through natural and built environments, how infrastructure is designed to manage, treat and distribute it, and how chemical, physical and environmental processes shape water resources. You will build skills in data analysis, modeling and system performance evaluation across a range of real-world conditions.

Coursework explores key areas across the water resources field, including water chemistry, hydrology, fate and transport of contaminants, site remediation and water reclamation and reuse. With opportunities to tailor your coursework, you can shape the minor to align with your interests and career goals while gaining exposure to the breadth of water and environmental systems. You will be prepared to contribute to teams addressing one of the world’s most pressing challenges, ensuring safe, reliable and sustainable water supplies across communities around the world.

Program Options

This minor is housed in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

18 credit hours are required for this minor.

Students gain experience with water and environmental systems, including water chemistry, fluid mechanics, water resources and hydrology, fate and transport of chemicals in the environment, site remediation, and onsite water reclamation and reuse.