The HARP program consists of 3-4 undergraduate students that work collaboratively with Robert Burgholzer (surface-water modeler at DEQ), Brian Benham, and Cully Hession to tackle water quantity and quality issues across the commonwealth of Virginia. The program offers an opportunity to explore real-world problems outside of the classroom, with an emphasis on how to effectively work in a dynamic team environment. Examples of engineering skills applied within the HARP group include spatial analysis, database technology, data visualization, and modeling. During summer 2015, we focussed on the examining the impacts of the over 78,000 impoundments in Virginia – from small farm ponds to large reservoirs. Recent HARP analysts have gone on to graduate school, USGS (Lindsay Carr), and engineering consulting (Kinsey Hoffman).