METU Water Resources Laboratory provides instructional, applied and theoretical research facilities in the fields of water resources, hydrology and hydraulics. Teaching and research are carried out on water supply systems, waste water collection systems, irrigation systems, river engineering, urban storm water hydrology and hydraulics, diversion weirs, bridge hydraulics, optimization in water resources, operation of hydraulic systems, multi-objective optimization of water distribution networks, uncertainty and risk assessment, reliability-based design and analysis of hydrosystems, dam safety assessment, GIS, RS, and hydrometeorology integration with hydrological models, soft computing systems in water resources management, climate change impacts on water resources, etc. A computer laboratory with high capability PCs is available for the tutorial sessions of undergraduate and graduate courses. Both commercial and non-commercial hydrological and hydraulic models are available as teaching material.

Graduate studies in Water Resources Engineering at Middle East Technical University emphasize engineering hydrology, hydraulics and water resources management concepts and techniques and their broader application to pressing water resources problems involving natural resource use and protection. A specific graduate program named "Hydropower Engineering" is also offered. The curriculum aims to develop the students's ability to conduct engineering work involving basic concepts and principles, technical analysis, planning, design and management. Students are prepared for careers in consulting and design, environmental analysis and management, and teaching and research. Numerous research projects are ongoing in the laboratory such as "estimation of streamflows using data-driven methods", "1D and 2D flood modeling", "developing flood risk maps", "dam break analyses", "dam safety assessment", "hydrological modeling using satellite derived snow maps", "developing realtime satellite based snow maps", "hydrometeorological system modeling for the effect of climate change on water resources", and "precipitation estimation using hydrometeorologic system and data assimilation concept", "optimal operation of water distribution networks".