What kind of jobs does an environmental engineer do? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

Environmental engineers work in a range of roles, most of them not requiring a lot of lab work but more time in desktop analyses, developing numerical models and planning or designing things. Some do spend time in the lab, working with physical hydraulic models for instance, or in the field, sampling water quality and assessing the effectiveness of interventions. Some do work with hazardous substances and others don’t. Tasks that environmental engineers might take on include:

* Designing operating procedures for drinking water dams to ensure that water supply and water quality are maintained or improved.

* Planning and improving sewage treatment plants to ensure they operate efficiently and with minimal adverse impacts on people and the environment.

* Advising governments and regional bodies on interventions to improve water quality in lakes and rivers.

* Working within industry to reduce emissions of contaminants to air, water and land from factories, mines and processing plants.

* Designing waste disposal facilities such as landfills, incinerators or toxic waste handling facilities to ensure that they do not contaminate the environment.

* Assessing the extent of existing contamination in the environment (for example, after an oil spill or nuclear accident, or from past industrial activity) and working out how to remediate it.

* Designing flood mitigation measures and coastal developments.

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