PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental: Practice Questions, Units, and Exam Format
Closed-conduit and open-channel hydraulics, hydrology, groundwater and wells, and drinking water and wastewater treatment. See exactly what is on the exam, unit by unit, and practise it with a tutor that adapts to you.
Exam format
| Section | Questions | Time | Share of score |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental | 80 | 8 hr | 100% |
Units and exam weights
| Unit | Exam weight | Topics covered |
|---|---|---|
| Project Planning | 5 to 7.5% | 1.A Quantity take-off methods, 1.B Cost estimating, 1.C Project schedules, 1.D Activity identification and sequencing, 1.E Economic and sustainability analysis (e.g., present worth, lifecycle costs, comparison of alternatives) |
| Soil Mechanics | 3.75 to 6.25% | 2.A Lateral earth pressure, 2.B Soil consolidation and compaction, 2.C Bearing capacity, 2.D Settlement, 2.E Slope stability |
| Materials | 5 to 7.5% | 3.A Soil classification and boring log interpretation, 3.B Soil properties (e.g., strength, permeability, compressibility, phase relationships), 3.C Concrete (e.g., nonreinforced, reinforced), 3.D Piping materials, 3.E Material test methods and specification conformance |
| Analysis and Design | 7.5 to 11.25% | 4.A Mass balance, 4.B Hydraulic loading, 4.C Solids loading (e.g., sediment loading, sludge), 4.D Hydraulic flow measurement |
| Hydraulics–Closed Conduit | 8.75 to 13.75% | 5.A Energy and/or continuity equation (e.g., Bernoulli, grade line analyses, momentum equation), 5.B Pressure conduit (e.g., single pipe, force mains, Hazen-Williams, Darcy-Weisbach, major and minor losses), 5.C Pump application and analysis, including wet wells, lift stations, and cavitation, 5.D Pipe network analysis (e.g., series, parallel, loop networks) |
| Hydraulics–Open Channel | 8.75 to 13.75% | 6.A Open-channel flow, 6.B Hydraulic grade lines and energy dissipation (e.g., plunge pool, drop structure, culvert outlet), 6.C Stormwater collection and drainage (e.g., culvert, stormwater inlets, gutter flow, street flow, storm sewer pipes), 6.D Sub-and supercritical flow |
| Hydrology | 10 to 15% | 7.A Storm characteristics (e.g., storm frequency, rainfall measurement, distribution), 7.B Runoff analysis (e.g., rational and SCS/NRCS methods), 7.C Hydrograph development and applications, including synthetic hydrographs, 7.D Rainfall intensity, duration, frequency, and probability of exceedance, 7.E Time of concentration, 7.F Rainfall and stream gauging stations |
| Groundwater and Wells | 5 to 7.5% | 8.A Aquifers, 8.B Groundwater flow, 8.C Well and drawdown analysis |
| Surface Water and Groundwater Quality | 6.25 to 10% | 9.A Stream degradation and oxygen dynamics, 9.B Total maximum daily load (TMDL) (e.g., nutrient contamination, DO, load allocation), 9.C Biological and chemical contaminants |
| Drinking Water Distribution and Treatment | 7.5 to 11.25% | 10.A Drinking water distribution systems, 10.B Drinking water treatment processes, 10.C Present, short-term, and long-term demands, 10.D Storage, 10.E Sedimentation, 10.F Coagulation and flocculation |
| Wastewater Collection and Treatment | 8.75 to 13.75% | 11.A Wastewater collection systems (e.g., lift stations, sewer networks, infiltration, inflow, smoke testing, maintenance, odor control), 11.B Wastewater treatment systems, 11.C Preliminary treatment, 11.D Primary treatment, 11.E Secondary treatment (e.g., physical, chemical, biological processes), 11.F Nutrient removal |
| Project Sitework | 11.25 to 17.5% | 12.A Excavation and embankment (e.g., grading, cut and fill), 12.B Construction site layout and control, 12.C Temporary and permanent soil erosion and sediment control (e.g., construction erosion control and permits, sediment transport, channel/outlet protection), 12.D Impact of construction on adjacent facilities, 12.E Safety (e.g., construction, roadside, work zone), 12.F Basic horizontal and vertical curve elements |
How Kalyta teaches PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental
Practice that adapts to you, an explanation for every answer, and a full rehearsal before the real thing. You spend your time on the units that move your score instead of the ones you have already got.
- Adaptive practice. Questions are picked around your current level, so you are always working just past what you can already do.
- Every answer explained. See why the right answer is right and why each other choice is wrong, with figures and step by step reasoning.
- An AI tutor you can steer. Ask why something works, ask for another example, or tell it to slow down and teach the idea from the start.
- Full exam rehearsals. Sit the real format under real timing and see exactly how many questions you got right, unit by unit, so test day feels like something you have already done.
- Progress you can see. Watch your readiness climb unit by unit, and know what is solid before you walk in.
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