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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.