Since the 1970s, the Department of Civil Engineering (now Civil and Water Engineering) has contributed to technical and scientific advances in the field of water retention structures. For over 30 years, a partnership has been established between the department's geotechnical professors, Hydro-Québec, the Ministry of the Environment (now MELCC), and numerous private sector partners. Two NSERC industrial research chairs were created (CREIG phases 1 and 2 and CRIBAR phases 1 and 2), along with many cooperative research and development projects and other research contracts.

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Fundamental and applied research has focused on various topics, including flow in porous media, deformations under seismic loading or heavy vehicle loads on dam crests, the effects of freezing, the importance of proper placement of construction materials, and internal erosion.