The Department of Civil Engineering has established The Agricultural Water Management field laboratory to address critical issues in agricultural water management and the food and water security nexus. The laboratory is co-funded by the Government of India and the university to serve as a state-of-the-art research facility. It has an extensive crop experimentation facility equipped with a drip irrigation system and research equipment facility for monitoring crop and soil parameters. Currently, four doctoral students and four undergraduate researchers are conducting their research at this lab.

The research group has interacted with local farmers to provide knowledge regarding different irrigation methodologies and benefits with respect to saving water. Work is in progress to develop a farmer laboratory for soil and irrigation water testing and dissemination of weather data for use by local farmers. Also funded by the Government of India, the lead faculty associated with this project is developing AI-based decision-support systems for improved crop water use efficiency under a regulated deficit drip irrigation regime in the backdrop of climate change. This project will provide water-saving solutions for two widely grown and consumed crops, rice, and wheat.