Modern computer algebra systems have wide-ranging mathematical capabilities and user-friendly interfaces, which make them ideal tools for research and education. To demonstrate the applications of computer algebra for teaching, this paper reports on its successful incorporation into a senior, undergraduate, civil engineering course in open-channel hydraulics. Computer algebra is particularly useful for this course, since many hydraulics problems are non-linear and have traditionally required laborious solution techniques. The advanced capabilities of computer algebra systems also make them ideal tools for the design of hydraulic structures.