Live Online Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course
Live online, instructor-led · next cohort Nov 9, 2026 · from USD 1,700
Floods, droughts and competition for water are shaping investment decisions for dams, irrigation schemes, urban drainage and water supply across the region, and every one of them rests on a defensible estimate of how much water a catchment produces. Over ten days you move from raw hydrometric data to calibrated models. The first week covers the water balance, precipitation analysis, evaporation, infiltration, hydrographs, streamflow measurement, rating curves, frequency analysis and design flood estimation. You also delineate watersheds and derive catchment properties using GIS and digital elevation models.
The second week turns to simulation with HEC-HMS, SWAT and spreadsheet or Python tools. Topics include event and continuous models, unit hydrograph methods, SCS curve number, routing, parameter estimation, calibration, validation, uncertainty and the effect of land use and climate change on runoff. Applied labs address flood forecasting, reservoir and water resources assessment, and groundwater interaction, culminating in an integrated catchment project. Civil and water engineers, hydrologists, hydrogeologists, environmental scientists, GIS analysts, irrigation and catchment managers, and staff of water authorities and consultancies will find the programme directly applicable. Afterwards you can set up, calibrate and report a model with confidence. Classroom, online and in-house formats carry a CPD-accredited certificate.
At a Glance
How Live Online Training Works
Live online training, led by a trainer in real time, for participants anywhere.
More about live online training →- Format
- Live online, instructor-led
- Duration
- Mon - Fri (10 Days)
- Fee
- USD 1,700 (KES 160,000)
- Next start dates
- Nov 9, 2026, Dec 7, 2026, Jan 4, 2027
- Certificate
- Certificate of Completion
- What you need
- A computer with a reliable internet connection, a webcam and a headset
About this course
Water resources decisions in Africa increasingly depend on credible hydrological evidence. Rainfall patterns are shifting, urban areas are expanding over natural drainage, and agencies must size culverts, spillways and intakes, forecast floods and allocate scarce water between competing users. Poor hydrological analysis leads to under-designed structures, wasted investment and avoidable loss of life and property.
This ten-day programme builds hydrological competence from first principles to applied modelling. Participants begin with the hydrological cycle and the water balance, then analyse rainfall, evaporation and infiltration data and learn how streamflow is measured and rated. Statistical methods for flood and low-flow frequency, intensity-duration-frequency curves and design storms follow. GIS is used throughout to delineate catchments and derive slope, soil and land cover inputs. The second half of the programme introduces process-based and conceptual models, including HEC-HMS and SWAT, and takes participants through setup, calibration, validation, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis.
Most of the time is spent in the computer laboratory working with regional-style datasets. Participants practise quality control of data, build models for a sample basin, test climate and land use scenarios and present their findings in a technical report format used in practice.
Training Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Apply the water balance and describe the key processes of the hydrological cycle.
- Analyse rainfall, evaporation and streamflow records, including quality control and gap filling.
- Carry out flood and low-flow frequency analysis and estimate design floods.
- Delineate watersheds and derive model inputs using GIS and digital elevation data.
- Build rainfall-runoff models in HEC-HMS and set up a basin model in SWAT.
- Calibrate and validate models and quantify uncertainty.
- Simulate the effects of land use and climate change on catchment response.
- Present modelling results in a clear technical report for decision makers.
What you'll learn
Key Takeaways
Participants leave with:
- A cleaned hydrological dataset and documented quality control steps.
- A working watershed delineation and set of catchment parameters.
- A calibrated HEC-HMS model and an introductory SWAT project they can adapt.
- Design flood estimates with stated assumptions and uncertainty.
- A scenario assessment of land use or climate change effects on runoff.
- A report template for presenting modelling results to engineers and managers.
Training Methodology
The programme is laboratory-led and keeps theory short. It uses:
- Concise lectures that introduce each method and its assumptions
- Daily computer labs with regional-style rainfall and flow data
- Software work in HEC-HMS, SWAT, QGIS and spreadsheets
- Calibration clinics where participants compare and debate parameter choices
- A group catchment project reported in a technical format
Day 1: The Hydrological Cycle and Water Balance
- Components of the hydrological cycle
- Catchment water balance and its uses
- Hydrological data sources and networks in the region
- Units, scales and the catchment as a system
- Introduction to the software environment
- Exercise: a monthly water balance for a catchment
Day 2: Precipitation Analysis
- Rainfall measurement, radar and satellite estimates
- Quality control, gap filling and consistency checks
- Areal rainfall by Thiessen polygon and isohyetal methods
- Intensity-duration-frequency curves and design storms
- Trends and variability in rainfall records
- Lab: building IDF curves from station data
Day 3: Evaporation, Infiltration and Runoff Generation
- Evaporation and evapotranspiration estimation, including Penman-Monteith
- Soil moisture and infiltration models
- Runoff mechanisms and effective rainfall
- SCS curve number method
- Land use and soil effects on runoff
- Lab: computing effective rainfall for storm events
Day 4: Streamflow Measurement and Hydrographs
- Stage and discharge measurement methods
- Rating curve development and extrapolation
- Hydrograph components and baseflow separation
- Unit hydrograph theory and synthetic methods
- Flow duration and low-flow analysis
- Lab: rating curve and baseflow separation
Day 5: Frequency Analysis and Design Floods
- Probability distributions for extreme events
- Flood frequency analysis with Gumbel, Log-Pearson and GEV
- Regional frequency analysis and ungauged catchments
- Rational method and empirical flood formulas
- Design flood selection for structures
- Lab: estimating the 50 and 100 year flood
Day 6: GIS for Hydrology
- Digital elevation models and terrain preprocessing
- Flow direction, accumulation and stream networks
- Watershed delineation in QGIS
- Deriving slope, area, soil and land cover parameters
- Spatial rainfall and land cover data sources
- Lab: delineating a basin and extracting model inputs
Day 7: Rainfall-Runoff Modelling with HEC-HMS
- Model types: lumped, semi-distributed and distributed
- Setting up basin, meteorologic and control specifications
- Loss, transform, baseflow and routing methods
- Channel and reservoir routing
- Running event simulations and interpreting output
- Lab: building an event model for a sample basin
Day 8: Calibration, Validation and Uncertainty
- Objective functions: Nash-Sutcliffe, percent bias and others
- Manual and automatic calibration
- Split-sample validation
- Sensitivity analysis and equifinality
- Quantifying and communicating uncertainty
- Lab: calibrating and validating the basin model
Day 9: Continuous Modelling and Scenario Analysis
- Introduction to SWAT and long-term simulation
- Hydrological response units and model inputs
- Land use change and climate change scenarios
- Groundwater interaction and baseflow
- Water resources and reservoir yield assessment
- Lab: SWAT set-up and scenario run
Day 10: Integrated Catchment Project and Reporting
- Flood forecasting and early warning concepts
- Planning a modelling study from data to decision
- Group project: modelling a catchment end to end
- Technical report structure and visual presentation
- Reviewing model limitations and peer critique
- Final presentations and next steps
The course is designed for technical staff who study, design for or manage water in the landscape, including:
- Hydrologists and water resources engineers
- Civil engineers working on drainage, dams, roads and bridges
- Irrigation and catchment management officers
- Hydrogeologists and groundwater specialists
- Environmental scientists and climate adaptation specialists
- GIS and remote sensing analysts
- Staff of river basin and water resource management authorities
- Flood risk and disaster management officers
- Consultants and university researchers in water and environment
Participants who attend the ten days and complete the laboratory work and project are awarded a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion from Vision Reach Global Consultancy.
Please note that participants should bring a laptop capable of running the software, with installation support provided.
Choose Where You Want to Learn
Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course Venues
KenyaNairobiNext Nov 9· 13 dates$3,000- KenyaMombasaNext Oct 26· 13 dates$3,200
- KenyaNaivashaNext Nov 2· 13 dates$3,000
- KenyaKisumuNext Oct 26· 13 dates$3,000
- KenyaMachakosNext Nov 2· 13 dates$3,200
UgandaKampalaNext Nov 2· 13 dates$3,800
RwandaKigaliNext Oct 26· 13 dates$3,800
TanzaniaArushaNext Nov 9· 13 dates$3,800- TanzaniaDodomaNext Oct 26· 13 dates$3,600
- TanzaniaDar es SalaamNext Oct 26· 13 dates$4,000
- TanzaniaZanzibarNext Nov 16· 13 dates$5,200
NigeriaLagosNext Nov 16· 13 dates$5,600- NigeriaAbujaNext Nov 9· 13 dates$5,600
South AfricaPretoriaNext Nov 2· 13 dates$6,400- South AfricaJohannesburgNext Nov 2· 13 dates$6,800
- South AfricaCape TownNext Oct 26· 13 dates$7,600
UAEDubaiNext Oct 26· 13 dates$7,600
GhanaAccraNext Nov 16· 13 dates$9,000
Scroll sideways to see all 18 cities →
Frequently Asked Questions About Live Online Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course
Everything you need to know about this course before you register.
By the end of the Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling programme, you'll be able to apply the water balance and describe the key processes of the hydrological cycle, analyse rainfall, evaporation and streamflow records, including quality control and gap filling, carry out flood and low-flow frequency analysis and estimate design floods, and delineate watersheds and derive model inputs using gis and digital elevation data. The full breakdown of topics is covered session by session in the Course Outline tab above.
The course is designed for technical staff who study, design for or manage water in the landscape, including: Hydrologists and water resources engineers, Civil engineers working on drainage, dams, roads and bridges, Irrigation and catchment management officers, Hydrogeologists and groundwater specialists, Environmental scientists and climate adaptation specialists, GIS and remote sensing analysts, Staff of river basin and water resource management authorities, Flood risk and disaster management officers, and Consultants and university researchers in water and environment.
Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course typically runs as 10 Days. It's available as in-person classroom, live virtual, and in-house corporate training — every course can also be delivered on-site for your team on dates that suit you.
Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course is scheduled in-classroom in Nairobi, Kenya, Mombasa, Kenya, Naivasha, Kenya, and Kisumu, Kenya, and 14 other locations, plus a live interactive virtual classroom you can join from anywhere. Check the schedule panel above for exact upcoming dates and fees in each location.
The next live virtual cohort of Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling starts November 9, 2026, with new classroom cohorts also running on a rolling basis. Pick a date and location in the schedule panel above, then click "Register for the Course" — it takes a few minutes and your seat is confirmed once payment or a signed purchase order is received.
Yes — delegates who meet the attendance requirement receive a Certificate of Completion for Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course from Vision Reach Global Consultancy, issued in the name you register with, so double-check the spelling at checkout.
Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course is pitched at intermediate professionals. If you're unsure whether it's the right fit for your current role or background, message our training advisors before you register and they'll help you confirm.
Fees for Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course vary by delivery location and format and are shown in real time in the schedule panel above once you pick a date. Register 3 or more delegates on the same course together and a 5% team discount is applied automatically — larger cohorts can request a custom corporate quote.
Yes — Hydrology and Hydrological Modeling Training Course can be delivered on-site at your offices (or virtually for distributed teams), with case studies and examples tailored to your industry and the specific challenges your team is working through. Switch to the "In-House" tab in the schedule panel above to request a proposal.
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