Value proposition

A world-leading research & education institute specialised in water science and engineering.

The Centre for Water Systems (CWS) is part of the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy (ESE) at the University of Exeter, UK. The Centre is an internationally leading group specialising in the development and application of advanced computer-based technologies for the water industry.

Hydroinformatics and urban water management are the main themes, with key research areas in sustainability and resilience, risk-based decision support systems, data mining, numerical modelling, simulation and optimisation. CWS has a strong track record in all aspects of research related to water supply and distribution systems, urban drainage and flood risk management, water quality, wastewater treatment, groundwater, water resources, hydrology, hydraulics, the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus, adaptation, mitigation and cascading effects due to extreme weather events in the context of climate change.

CWS is actively involved in state-of-the-art research projects funded by EPSRC, NERC, UKRI, GCRF, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society, EU H2020 and others. The Centre typically has 15-20 ongoing research projects at any one time, and has strong industrial links.

CWS has developed specialist software that is widely used by other academic groups and companies alike, and staff have written key text books, contributed to best practice manuals and published highly-cited papers in high-quality journals.

CWS offers high-quality postgraduate taught and research programmes. The Centre leads the Water Informatics, Science & Engineering Centre for Doctoral Training (WISE CDT) and participates in the STREAM Industrial Doctorate Centre. In these programmes, we collaborate with industrial partners to train the next generation of engineers for the water sector. CWS also delivers an MSc programme in water engineering.


Adaptation & Sustainability, Artificial intelligence, Asset management, Climate Change, Computational modelling, Data analytics and visualisation, Digital twins, Digital water, ICT and smart solutions, Extreme weather and natural hazards, Flood risk management, Hazard impact and resilience, Hydraulic modelling, Hydroinformatics, Hydrology, Multi-objective optimisation, Nature-Based Solutions, Serious game and stakeholder engagement, System dynamics, Urban drainage, Urban water systems, Water and Human Environment, Water and Sanitation Hygiene, Water and Wastewater treatment , Water distribution systems, Water Efficiency, Water Engineering, Water quality, Water resources management, Water security, and Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus