The Water Resources Department performed works under the name Public Works Department (PWD) till 1970 when the Department along with Irrigation Department bifurcated from the parent Department i.e. PWD vide Notification No. ABP 135 / 70 / 10 Dt. 18-09-1970. Again in the year 1974, the Irrigation Department was separated out from the Flood Control Department vide Notification No. ABP 74 / 73 / Pt / 17 Dt. 22-01-1974. Subsequently, the Department was renamed as Water Resources Department in the year 2002 vide Notification No. AR 21 / 2002 / 4 Dt. 01-11-2002.

Water Resources Department has 26 nos of civil divisions. The Barpeta Water Resources Division is one of them. The main objective of the Barpeta W.R Division is to prevent river bank erosion and flood inundation. Flood and erosion are the major problem caused by the rivers Brahmaputra, Beki, Manash, Pahumara, Kaldia, Nokhanda, Morachaulkhowa, Bhellengi, Deojaraetc flowing through the Barpeta district of Assam. To control the menace of flood inundation Barpeta W.R Division has been taking up construction of embankment, raising and strengthening of deplorable embankment, anti-erosion works under different heads of account. The breach closing works are taken up by the division under State Disaster Response Fund (S.D.R.F.).

To prevent inundation the Barpeta W.R. division has so far constructed 181.68 km of embankment for river Brahmaputra and its different tributaries. River wise length of embankment is shown below