Water is the main channel through which climate change reaches people, farms, cities and ecosystems. Changing rainfall seasons, higher evaporation, receding glaciers, saline intrusion in coastal aquifers and more intense storms alter both how much water is available and when it arrives. Utilities, river basin authorities and development agencies that still design infrastructure on historic averages risk building systems that are undersized, stranded or unaffordable to operate.

The Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources Training Course builds the technical and planning skills to respond. It starts with the physical science of climate and the hydrological cycle, then shows how projections are produced, their uncertainties and how to select and prepare them for a basin. Participants estimate impacts on surface flows, groundwater, water quality and demand, assess vulnerability for sectors such as domestic supply, agriculture and hydropower, and compare adaptation options under uncertainty. The final sessions cover financing, institutions, monitoring and communicating risk to decision-makers.

The week is practical. Participants use sample climate and hydrological datasets for a real-style catchment, run spreadsheet and open-source tool exercises, and finish by drafting an adaptation plan they can adapt to their own organisation. A background in water, engineering, environment or development work is helpful.

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

• Explain how climate change alters the components of the hydrological cycle at global, regional and catchment scale.
• Select and interpret climate scenarios and models, including their uncertainties and limitations.
• Apply bias correction and downscaling to prepare climate data for hydrological use.
• Estimate changes in river flow, groundwater recharge and water demand under future scenarios.
• Assess flood, drought and water quality risks for a catchment or supply system.
• Conduct a climate vulnerability assessment for water users and communities.
• Compare adaptation options using cost-benefit and robust decision-making approaches.
• Draft a monitoring plan and communicate climate risk to decision-makers.

The programme suits professionals who plan, manage or fund water services and resources, including:

• Hydrologists and water resource engineers
• Catchment and river basin managers
• Water utility planners and operations managers
• County, municipal and district water officers
• Irrigation and agricultural water specialists
• Environmental and climate change officers
• NGO and development programme staff working on WASH and resilience
• Donor, government and finance advisers on climate adaptation

Participants finish the week with:

• A catchment-level climate impact screening template they can reuse.
• A worked set of adjusted climate data and a simple runoff change estimate.
• A vulnerability matrix identifying the users and assets most exposed.
• A ranked list of adaptation options with indicative costs and benefits.
• A draft adaptation and monitoring plan for their own basin or utility.
• A clear way to explain uncertainty to boards, communities and funders.

Teaching is hands-on and rooted in real catchment problems. The programme uses:

• Short technical briefings on climate science, hydrology and planning methods
• Sample climate and hydrological datasets for a catchment-based case
• Spreadsheet and open-source tool exercises on data preparation and runoff estimates
• Group work on vulnerability mapping and adaptation ranking
• Discussion of participants' own basins, utilities and projects

On attending all sessions and completing the practical exercises, participants receive a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.