Water and Flood Management

The water and flood management subsector addresses critical challenges of water security, quality, and climate resilience. UK water companies serve around 60 million customers. Pressure to invest in aging infrastructure have brought about an estimated investment of £14.4 billion in 2024–25; the highest annual amount ever. Ofwat, the UK government’s water services regulation authority has proposed £96–104 billion in water and sewage infrastructure investment between 2025 and 2030, nearly doubling expenditure from the previous five-year period.

Climate change intensifies the sector’s importance, increasing national and global flood and drought risks. UN SDG 6 advocating access to clean water and sanitation acknowledges how thirty percent of the earth’s population do not have access to clean water. This means there is a global drive for innovation in sustainable water management.

The sector employs over 42,000 people directly in water companies, with further roles in environmental consultancies, engineering firms, and regulatory bodies. Major investment in infrastructure resilience, nature-based solutions, and smart water networks is creating diverse career opportunities.

Career opportunities in this sub-sector encompass the following areas of work:

Asset maintenance and optimisation – ensuring water infrastructure performs efficiently.
Capital project delivery – managing infrastructure projects from planning to commissioning.
Catchment management – coordinating river basin activities to improve water quality.
Customer and stakeholder engagement – maintaining strong relationships with communities and regulators.
Digital water solutions – using smart tech, IoT, and analytics for efficient networks.
Distribution network management – optimising systems to reduce leaks and maintain reliable supply.
Environmental compliance and monitoring – ensuring operations meet regulations through sampling and reporting.
Flood risk assessment and mitigation – modelling hazards and designing protection strategies.
Hydraulic modelling – simulating water behaviour to support design and operations.
Innovation and sustainability – creating approaches for net-zero and circular economy goals.
River and coastal engineering – designing structures to manage flooding, erosion, and habitats.
Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) – nature-based solutions for surface water management and biodiversity.
Wastewater treatment and recycling – managing sewage and enabling safe water reuse.
Water resource planning – balancing supply and demand while protecting the environment.
Water treatment and quality control – ensuring safe drinking water through monitoring and advanced processes.

Key roles in water and flood management

Catchment Manager - coordinates integrated land and water management across river basins.
Civil Engineer - designs reservoirs, pipelines, and treatment infrastructure.
Climate Adaptation Specialist – develops resilience strategies against droughts, floods, and climate change.
Data Scientist - develops predictive models for asset management and demand forecasting.
Digital Solutions Engineer – integrates AI, machine learning, and automation into water systems.
Ecologist - protects aquatic habitats through assessments and mitigation measures.
Emergency Response Coordinator – develops plans for floods, droughts, and pollution incidents.
Environmental Consultant - advises on regulatory compliance and environmental impact.
Environmental Engineer - ensures water operations protect ecosystems and meet regulations.
Flood Risk Engineer – assesses flood hazards and develops mitigation strategies.
Geographic Information Systems Officer - manages spatial data for assets, flood risk, and network planning.
Hydraulic Modeller - uses software (e.g., HEC-RAS, InfoWorks) to simulate flows and flooding.
Hydrologist - studies water movement to inform sustainable resource management.
Leakage Programmes Analyst – implements water loss reduction strategies using advanced detection.
Maintenance Engineer - plans preventive maintenance to maximise asset life and reliability.
Process Engineer – optimises chemical, biological, and physical water treatment processes.
Project Manager - delivers capital projects from design through to commissioning.
Smart Water Network Analyst – implements IoT and real-time analytics to optimise performance.
Sustainability Consultant - drives carbon reduction and resource efficiency.
Treatment Works Manager – oversees water/wastewater facility operations ensuring compliance.
Water Engineer - designs and manages water supply, treatment, and distribution systems.
Water Quality Scientist – monitors and analyses water to ensure environmental and public health standards.
Water Resource Planner – develops strategies to balance supply, demand, and environmental protection.
Water Treatment Worker - operates and maintains equipment ensuring safe drinking water production.

Skills employers look for

Every employer is different so there are no definitive lists here. These are meant as a guide and should be considered in addition to fully exploring the role requirements outlined in the person specification, job description and advert for each role you consider applying for.

Asset management – understanding risk-based approaches to maintain and replace infrastructure.
Business case and decision support – understanding cost-benefit and multi-criteria considerations.
CAD/BIM – creating and interpreting technical designs for water infrastructure.
Catchment and natural flood management – applying integrated land and water approaches.
Climate adaptation – awareness of approaches to increase resilience to flooding, drought, or climate change.
Communication – explaining technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
Data analysis – interpreting datasets to support decisions.
Drainage and SuDS design – applying sustainable and conventional drainage solutions.
Ecology and biodiversity – considering habitat protection in planning and design.
Environmental impact assessment – supporting evaluation and mitigation of project effects.
Environmental regulations – awareness of Water Framework Directive, permits, and standards.
Hydraulic modelling – using software like HEC-RAS or InfoWorks to simulate networks and flooding.
Hydrology and hydraulics – basic water movement, flow calculations, and drainage principles.
Problem-solving and innovation – developing practical solutions and identifying efficiency improvements.
Process control and SCADA – supporting automation and monitoring of treatment plants.
Project management – assisting in delivery of projects on time and budget.
Pump, pipe, and network systems – understanding efficient hydraulics and energy considerations.
Risk assessment – identifying hazards and evaluating mitigation approaches.
Stakeholder engagement – supporting consultation with communities and regulators.
Water chemistry and biology – knowledge of water quality parameters and aquatic ecosystems.
Water quality compliance – ensuring drinking water and environmental standards are met.
Water treatment processes – understanding water and wastewater treatment technologies.

Gaining Experience

All experiences ranging from volunteering, active involvement in clubs/societies can help you to develop relevant and transferable skills. You may wish to consider involvement in volunteering, University of Exeter employability schemes, speculative application and part-time work. Volunteering opportunities vary widely between different organisations as no one body assumes overriding control over water management.

National and Local Opportunities

Atlantic Salmon Trust – has volunteering opportunities to support their work to re-introduce Atlantic wild salmon into the environment.
Communities Prepared - charitable organisation, a division of Groundwork South offering free training and resources to help people and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from a range of emergencies, including flooding. Opportunities to volunteer as a flood warden volunteer.
Environment Agency - opportunities to become a flood warden.
Groundwork UK - charity supporting community environmental projects, including river restoration and sustainable drainage system installation.
Local wildlife trusts and your local council are also great places to look for opportunities, as they often run wetland restoration projects and other environmental initiatives.
National Flood Forum - charity supporting communities affected by flooding through recovery assistance and resilience planning.
Surfers Against Sewage – charity advocating campaigns for clean water and beaches.
The Canal & River Trust: charity maintaining historic waterways through roles such as lock keeping, towpath maintenance, and educational programs.
The Rivers Trust – charity working to restore and protect the UK's waterways through water quality monitoring and habitat restoration initiatives such Citizen Scientist. Click for West Country projects.

International and Educational Opportunities

WaterAid UK - global charity working to ensure that everyone has access to clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene.
Educational outreach – volunteer with water companies that run educational places the public can visit such as reservoirs and visitor centres. These organisations often run educational programmes that show how water is treated and how they work with customers.
Student societies at Streatham and Penryn organising river clean-ups and environmental awareness campaigns. For more information click here.

Wider general volunteering

Exeter Students’ Guild - Volunteering and The SU – Volunteering & Fundraising – you can find opportunities to volunteer through the Guild in Exeter and the SU in Penryn.
Abroad.com lists water related volunteering positions around the world.
Devon Voluntary Action  - partnership organisation working with individuals, not-for-profit groups, and social enterprises.
Explore volunteering opportunities on Handshake .
Get Volunteering – a website where you can search for local volunteering opportunities in various areas, e.g., emergency response, health and social care, fitness & sport.
NCVO – membership community for charities, voluntary organisations and community groups.
Reach Volunteering - skills-based volunteering charity.
Vinspired shows volunteering opportunities for up to 14 – 30 year olds.
Visit your local Volunteering Centre.
Volunteer Cornwall – charity building social capital and developing the wellbeing of individuals and communities in Cornwall.
Volunteering Matters – volunteer to help a local community, reducing isolation, improving mental and physical health, developing essential skills and supporting change.

University of Exeter Employability Schemes

Ask An Alum: your chance to access over 700 alumni for custom careers advice and tips in a quick email exchange.
Career Zone Internship schemes: Internships can be extremely useful, so try and get relevant vacation work or placements.
Exeter Award: The Exeter Award will help you stand out from the crowd and give you the confidence to shout about the experiences you've had at university.
Grand Challenges: interdisciplinary project week addressing UN SDGs.
Green Consultants: provides you with additional skills and experience required to work in the highly competitive environmental and sustainability sector.
The Career Mentor Scheme: may help you to be matched to an experienced professional who can provide you with sector-specific advice and guidance for 6-months.

Speculative applications and where to find opportunities

Undertaking relevant work experience will also allow you to develop new skills and gain a valuable insight into the sector. As jobs and opportunities are not always advertised, it can be useful to develop your networking skills and make a speculative application. You may find it useful to read our Researching employers page.

When approaching water organisations, be specific about your area of interest (water treatment, flood management, environmental monitoring, asset management) to tailor your approach effectively. Seek out networking opportunities to gain insights. The Centre for Water Systems and local Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) branch events provide networking opportunities to make initial contacts. Prospects has a helpful guide on how to write a speculative application.

Finding part-time work

Explore opportunities on local job sites and have a look at Handshake, our vacancy database with employers who are targeting University of Exeter students.

To explore part-time job searching in more detail perhaps consider:

Attend the ‘Finding a Part-Time Job’ advice session which explores the benefits of gaining part-time work, where you can find these opportunities and top tips for your applications. This session will be listed on Handshake events.
Listen to this episode of the Career Zone podcast for more advice about finding a part-time job.

Finding advertised graduate roles, placements and internships

Competition can be strong, especially for entry-level positions. Use the following resources to find advertised vacancies and research employers. As a starting point the following organisations might merit investigation.

Major water companies:

Consultancies and contractors:

AECOM - global infrastructure firm providing a wide range of professional services, including design, consulting, construction, and management.
Arcadis - global design and consultancy firm for natural and built assets, focusing on sustainable solutions in water, environment, infrastructure, and buildings.
Arup - firm of designers, planners, engineers, and technical specialists offering a broad range of professional services across the built environment.
Atkins - multinational engineering, design, and project management consultancy with expertise in the transportation, infrastructure, and energy sectors.
Black & Veatch - employee-owned engineering, procurement, and construction company specialising in the energy, water, telecommunications, and government markets.
JBA Consulting – group of environmental, engineering and flood risk management.
Jacobs - global professional services company providing technical, professional, and construction services for a wide range of industries and government clients.
Land & Water Group – specialist dredging company and environmental engineering.
Mott MacDonald - global engineering, management, and development consultancy focused on improving social and economic outcomes through its work on infrastructure and sustainable development projects.
Stantec - global professional services company in the design and consulting industry, providing services in infrastructure, buildings, and environmental projects.

Specialist recruitment:

CIWEM Career Hub - jobs platform arm of professional membership body.
Institute of Water Jobs Board – jobs platform arm of professional membership body.
WaterJobs UK - dedicated water industry job board,

For general information about finding graduate opportunities, please visit our Graduate Jobs page. 

Graduate schemes and internships

Collection for internships in this sector found on Handshake.

See listings of internships and placements on Gradcracker.

Sample of leading operators offering structured graduate programmes; note this is not an exhaustive list but merely a snapshot of some options:

Anglian Water Graduate Development Programme – scheme developing future leaders
Arup Graduate Water Engineer Programme – Graduate programme for water engineering roles
Environment Agency Flood and Coastal Risk Management Trainee Scheme – Specialised trainee scheme for flood and coastal risk management
Mott MacDonald Water Graduate Scheme – variety of schemes including water sector focused graduate programme
Severn Trent Graduate Schemes – variety of schemes across a variety of disciplines ranging from project management to treatment process engineering
Thames Water Graduate Schemes – variety of schemes across a variety of disciplines ranging from project management to treatment process engineering
United Utilities Graduate Scheme – technical & management streams.

Placements

If you are interested in finding out more about work placements, you can also access the Work Placements SharePoint via Single Sign-On. This resource covers all aspects of credit-bearing work experiences as part of your degree, including what a placement is, how to apply for them, and bespoke information for international students or those interested in working abroad. 

Careers sections of water utility and consultancy employers.
Gradcracker - aggregated listings of opportunities in water.

The following options might also present placement opportunities:

AECOM – flood risk, water resources, and SuDS design placements.
Arup – consultancy placements in flood risk management, resilience, and water systems.
Capita Real Estate and Infrastructure (REI) – flood defence, drainage, and river engineering projects.
Centre for Resilience in Environment, Water and Waste (CREWW) – research centre as a joint venture between South West Water and the University of Exeter.
Environment Agency (England) – flood risk, hydrology, and environmental protection placements.
King’s College London Risk, Hazard, and Society Research Group – collaborative research opportunities on flood risk policy and resilience.
Mott MacDonald – placements in water engineering and flood risk.
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) – research placements in hydrology, climate impacts, and water systems.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) – Opportunities in flood risk, water resources, and river restoration.
Royal HaskoningDHV – climate adaptation, flood modelling, and water management roles.
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) – hydrology, flood forecasting, and water quality projects.

Further sources of support

If you are an international student, visit our international webpages for help finding opportunities both in the UK and globally.

To find opportunities outside the UK use GoinGlobal.

Further study and professional development

Some individuals decide to undertake further study to develop their skills and knowledge of the sector and related occupations. Not all roles or employers will require this, so it is important to research entry requirements and employer preferences before committing to additional training or qualifications. Use the sites below to research your further study options.

Significant challenges from climate change, ageing infrastructure, and enforcement of stricter environmental standards generate opportunities for enhanced specialisation as outlined in Water UK's skills analysis. With Ofwat, the UK’s water services regulation authority, mandating billions of pounds of infrastructure investment by 2030, employers seek graduates who combine traditional engineering with digital skills to work with smart water networks, AI leak detection, and predictive asset management. Climate resilience will require specialists in innovative flood risk management strategies harnessing nature-based solutions, sustainable drainage, community resilience, circular economy principles, including resource recovery, energy generation, and nutrient recycling to meet net-zero goals.

Examples of postgraduate programmes

MSc Flood Risk Management
MSc Hydrology and Water Management
MSc Sustainable Water Management
MSc Water and Environmental Management
MSc Water and Wastewater Engineering

Use the sites below to research your further study options.

CIWEM - directory of accredited courses and continuous professional development courses.
Find a Masters is helpful for exploring water management opportunities around the world

Information and links from professional bodies

If you have studied a related degree, check if your course is accredited by one of the professional bodies. Being a member of a professional body is voluntary; however, it can be valuable for developing networks, continuing your professional development, and generally keeping up to date with what's happening in the sector. 

British Water - trade association representing the water and wastewater supply chain.
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) – royal chartered professional body advocating sustainable management of the environment.
Institute of Water – professional body representing a multiplicity of occupations working in water.
Water UK – trade association representing the water industry.

Advice

If you would like to pursue postgraduate study before entering your chosen sector, please visit our Postgraduate Study page for more information about choosing further study.