Climate Resilient Water Management Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Water Utility Managers, WASH Programme Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-WS-033

Before you join: Participants should have practical familiarity with water supply, sanitation, water resources, infrastructure planning, environmental management or WASH programming.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Water systems in climate-affected regions face more variable rainfall, prolonged drought, intense floods, declining groundwater recharge, saline intrusion and damage to infrastructure. Utilities, municipalities, NGOs and humanitarian agencies must maintain safe, equitable services while managing uncertain water availability and competing demands from households, agriculture, industry and ecosystems. Decisions made without climate data, demand analysis, catchment assessment and operational contingency plans can lock providers into costly, unreliable investments.

This course equips participants to assess climate risks to water resources and sanitation services, develop practical adaptation measures, and prioritise investments under budget and capacity constraints. Participants apply Integrated Water Resources Management principles, water balance methods, climate scenario interpretation, Water Safety Plan procedures, non-revenue water analysis, groundwater management controls and drought preparedness tools. The programme addresses urban and rural water supply, sanitation systems, watershed management, flood risk, emergency water services and institutional coordination.

Teaching combines instructor briefings, technical case work, facilitated group analysis, planning simulations and structured application to participant contexts. Cases reflect municipal utilities, refugee settlements, rural water schemes, river-basin authorities and climate-vulnerable towns. Participants progressively develop a climate-resilient water management package for a defined service area, including risk assessment, water balance, intervention portfolio, implementation plan, monitoring framework and financing priorities. They receive a certificate of completion after the 10-day instructor-led course.

The course is suited to professionals who already work with water, sanitation, infrastructure, climate adaptation or public-service planning and need stronger methods for converting climate risk evidence into operational and investment decisions.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess climate hazards, exposure and vulnerability across water and sanitation service systems
  • Construct seasonal and annual water balances using supply, demand and loss data
  • Interpret climate projections and hydrological uncertainty for water planning decisions
  • Develop climate-resilient water supply, sanitation and catchment adaptation measures
  • Apply Water Safety Plan risk assessment methods to climate-related water quality threats
  • Prioritise adaptation investments using multi-criteria analysis, lifecycle costs and equity criteria
  • Design drought, flood and service-disruption contingency arrangements for water providers
  • Produce a climate-resilient water management plan with implementation and monitoring actions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce defensible climate-risk assessments for water and sanitation service areas
  • Make investment recommendations using water balances, lifecycle costs and equity criteria
  • Strengthen credibility when reviewing consultant studies and infrastructure proposals
  • Develop drought and flood contingency plans relevant to operational water services
  • Build a portfolio-ready climate-resilient water management plan

For your organisation

  • Reduce service interruption risks from droughts, floods and source contamination
  • Improve prioritisation of scarce capital funds for resilient water investments
  • Strengthen compliance with water safety, emergency preparedness and adaptation requirements
  • Protect vulnerable users through equity-based service and allocation decisions
  • Create repeatable planning tools for utilities, municipalities and WASH programmes

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can identify how climate hazards disrupt water resources, infrastructure, sanitation and public health.

  • Climate hazard pathways affecting water quantity, quality, infrastructure and sanitation services
  • Drought, flood, heat and saline intrusion effects on service continuity
  • Exposure mapping for sources, treatment plants, networks and sanitation facilities
  • Vulnerability factors including asset condition, poverty, governance and maintenance capacity
  • Direct and indirect climate impacts on waterborne disease transmission
  • Risk statements linking hazard, exposure, vulnerability and service consequences

Participants can interpret climate information appropriately for local water management decisions.

  • Observed rainfall and temperature records: trends, variability, gaps and outliers
  • Seasonality analysis using monthly rainfall, runoff and demand profiles
  • Climate projection ensembles, emissions pathways and confidence limitations explained
  • Downscaled climate information assessed against local hydrological observations
  • Scenario planning distinguishes plausible futures from deterministic forecasts
  • Decision thresholds translated from rainfall, river-flow and groundwater indicators

Participants can map water sources, users, infrastructure and environmental dependencies within a service system.

  • Source inventory covering rivers, springs, boreholes, reservoirs and rainwater systems
  • Catchment-to-consumer system mapping identifies critical interdependencies and failure points
  • Water-user mapping distinguishes domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecosystem demands
  • Seasonal source reliability assessed through yield records and abstraction patterns
  • Sanitation pathways mapped from containment through treatment, reuse and disposal
  • Critical asset registers link condition, capacity, location and climate exposure

Participants can build a basic water balance and forecast climate-sensitive demand.

  • Water balance equations reconcile inflows, storage, outflows, losses and abstractions
  • Monthly supply-demand balances reveal dry-season deficits and surplus periods
  • Per-capita demand estimates separated by household, institutional and commercial users
  • Population projections converted into service demand under alternative coverage targets
  • Climate-sensitive demand drivers include heat, irrigation needs and displacement
  • Non-revenue water incorporated within production, distribution and demand calculations

Participants can apply IWRM principles to coordinate competing water uses and climate adaptation priorities.

  • IWRM principles connect water allocation, land use, ecosystems and governance
  • Stakeholder analysis identifies rights holders, duty bearers and influential actors
  • Environmental flow requirements considered alongside consumptive water allocations
  • Allocation rules compared for normal, alert, drought and emergency conditions
  • Transboundary and upstream-downstream issues framed through benefit-sharing principles
  • Coordination mechanisms define mandates, data sharing and escalation procedures

Participants can select catchment interventions that protect water quantity, quality and recharge.

  • Catchment diagnosis links land cover change to water-service risks
  • Source protection zones defined around wells, springs and intake structures
  • Riparian buffers reduce erosion, sediment loads and pollutant transport
  • Managed aquifer recharge options assessed for hydrogeological suitability and maintenance
  • Soil and water conservation measures support infiltration and baseflow
  • Nature-based measures compared with engineered alternatives using performance criteria

Participants can assess groundwater risks and establish practical abstraction and recharge controls.

  • Aquifer concepts: recharge, storage, drawdown, transmissivity and sustainable yield
  • Groundwater monitoring networks specify water levels, quality and abstraction records
  • Pumping-test evidence interpreted for borehole yield and seasonal reliability
  • Abstraction permits linked to groundwater thresholds and drought restrictions
  • Saline intrusion risks assessed for coastal aquifers and low-lying islands
  • Managed aquifer recharge plans address source water quality and clogging

Participants can identify resilient design and operational measures for water supply infrastructure.

  • Redundancy options include multiple sources, interconnections, storage and standby power
  • Flood-proofing measures protect intakes, pumps, treatment units and electrical controls
  • Drought-resilient source portfolios combine surface water, groundwater and demand management
  • Design flood allowances applied to critical water infrastructure elevations
  • Asset criticality assessment prioritises protection, rehabilitation and replacement decisions
  • Operation and maintenance plans include climate-triggered inspection and repair actions

Participants can identify climate-related water quality threats and specify protective controls.

  • Heavy rainfall pathways increase turbidity, pathogen loads and chemical contamination
  • Drought conditions concentrate contaminants and reduce dilution in source waters
  • Water quality monitoring plans define parameters, frequency, locations and responsibilities
  • Microbial risk controls address treatment performance, distribution integrity and storage
  • Sanitary inspections identify contamination routes around sources and household facilities
  • Public health surveillance links diarrhoeal disease alerts with water-service failures

Participants can apply Water Safety Plan procedures to climate-related drinking-water risks.

  • WHO Water Safety Plan steps applied from catchment to consumer
  • System descriptions capture climate-sensitive sources, assets, controls and users
  • Hazardous events scored through likelihood, severity and existing control effectiveness
  • Control measures verified using operational limits and corrective-action procedures
  • Climate triggers incorporated into surveillance, inspections and incident response
  • Improvement schedules assign actions, budgets, owners and completion dates

Participants can select sanitation and faecal sludge measures suited to climate hazards and site conditions.

  • Climate hazard screening for pits, septic tanks, sewers and treatment sites
  • Flood-resilient sanitation designs prevent overflow, infiltration and structural failure
  • High-water-table areas require containment, emptying and disposal adaptations
  • Faecal sludge service chains assessed from containment through safe end-use
  • Treatment technologies compared for hydraulic loading, energy needs and climate exposure
  • Sanitation service continuity plans protect public health during emergencies

Participants can use demand management and loss reduction to improve water security.

  • IWA water balance separates authorised consumption, apparent losses and real losses
  • District metered areas support pressure management and targeted leakage detection
  • Minimum night-flow analysis estimates background leakage within distribution zones
  • Customer metering strategies improve demand data, billing accuracy and conservation
  • Water conservation measures combine tariffs, fixtures, messaging and reuse systems
  • Drought demand restrictions matched to service levels and enforcement capacity

Participants can develop drought preparedness arrangements based on indicators, triggers and response actions.

  • Drought management cycle covers preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation
  • Drought indicators combine rainfall, streamflow, reservoir storage and groundwater levels
  • Trigger-action tables connect thresholds with staged operational measures
  • Priority water uses defined through public health, equity and legal criteria
  • Emergency supply options assessed for yield, quality, cost and permissions
  • Drought communication plans specify messages, audiences, channels and spokespersons

Participants can plan water and sanitation service continuity during floods and displacement emergencies.

  • Flood hazard maps identify inundation depths, flow paths and access constraints
  • Business continuity plans protect essential staff, power, chemicals and communications
  • Emergency water supply options include tankering, mobile treatment and household treatment
  • Sphere water-supply indicators guide emergency quantity, access and quality decisions
  • Emergency sanitation planning addresses excreta containment, drainage and vector control
  • Incident command structures clarify operational authority, coordination and reporting

Participants can incorporate equity and inclusion criteria into climate-resilient water service decisions.

  • Service inequity analysis disaggregates access, reliability, affordability and safety
  • Climate impacts assessed for women, children, older people and persons with disabilities
  • Participatory risk assessment captures local knowledge and differentiated priorities
  • Affordability analysis tests tariffs, connection charges and emergency water costs
  • Accessible water-point design considers distance, queuing, safety and physical access
  • Grievance mechanisms record exclusion, service failures and response actions

Participants can compare and prioritise adaptation options using transparent technical and financial criteria.

  • Adaptation option lists distinguish no-regret, low-regret and transformational measures
  • Multi-criteria analysis scores reliability, cost, equity, environment and feasibility
  • Lifecycle costing includes capital, energy, maintenance, replacement and disposal costs
  • Cost-benefit analysis tests avoided losses against investment and operating costs
  • Sensitivity analysis examines uncertain demand, climate conditions and energy prices
  • Investment sequencing matches urgent actions with medium-term infrastructure programmes

Participants can identify financing routes and procurement requirements for resilient water interventions.

  • Capital improvement plans align resilient projects with service and budget priorities
  • Funding sources include tariffs, transfers, taxes, grants and climate finance
  • Project concept notes define climate rationale, beneficiaries, costs and outcomes
  • Resilience specifications embedded within design briefs and tender documents
  • Procurement evaluation criteria assess lifecycle value, technical quality and maintenance
  • Contract management tracks climate safeguards, milestones, variations and performance

Participants can create monitoring arrangements that support adaptive water management decisions.

  • Theory of change links interventions to resilient service outcomes
  • Indicator frameworks cover water availability, quality, reliability, equity and ecosystem health
  • Baseline assessments establish reference values, data sources and measurement responsibilities
  • Climate and service dashboards combine triggers, trends and management actions
  • Data quality protocols address completeness, accuracy, timeliness and verification
  • Adaptive management reviews revise assumptions, actions and budgets using evidence

Participants can establish governance arrangements for coordinated climate-resilient water management.

  • Institutional mapping identifies statutory mandates, overlaps, gaps and decision rights
  • Water governance principles address transparency, accountability, participation and rule enforcement
  • Service-level agreements clarify roles between utilities, municipalities and operators
  • Regulatory performance standards cover continuity, quality, losses and customer protection
  • Stakeholder engagement plans define influence, consultation methods and feedback loops
  • Conflict-resolution procedures address allocation disputes and source protection compliance

Participants can build, review and present a complete climate-resilient water management plan for a defined service area.

  • Service-area profile consolidates climate hazards, assets, users and institutional context
  • Risk register prioritises climate threats using likelihood, consequence and control ratings
  • Water balance identifies supply gaps, losses, demand drivers and reliability constraints
  • Adaptation portfolio combines source, infrastructure, sanitation, demand and catchment measures
  • Implementation roadmap assigns sequencing, budgets, owners, milestones and dependencies
  • Monitoring framework presents indicators, triggers, review cycles and reporting arrangements

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Climate risk and vulnerability assessment template
  2. Seasonal water balance model
  3. Water Safety Plan climate-risk checklist
  4. Drought trigger-action matrix
  5. Adaptation option appraisal matrix
  6. Climate-resilient water management plan

Who should attend

  • Water Utility Managers — need reliable service and investment plans under climate variability
  • WASH Programme Managers — need climate-informed designs for development and humanitarian programmes
  • Municipal Engineers — need practical options for resilient water and sanitation infrastructure
  • Water Resources Officers — need methods for allocation, groundwater and catchment planning
  • Humanitarian WASH Advisors — need contingency approaches for drought, flood and displacement settings
  • Climate Adaptation Specialists — need water-sector methods for translating climate evidence into action

Skills and tools covered

Climate risk assessmentWater balance modellingDrought preparedness planningWater safety planningAdaptation investment appraisalCatchment management

Tools and standards

Integrated Water Resources Management, WHO Water Safety Plan, IWA Water Balance, Sphere Handbook

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by case analysis, group exercises, planning simulations and individual application work. Participants work with rainfall records, demand figures, source data, hazard maps, service indicators and investment options drawn from water utility, rural WASH and humanitarian settings. Facilitators guide participants through structured templates for risk assessment, water balancing, option appraisal and contingency planning. Peer review sessions test assumptions, challenge priorities and improve the final management plan. Time is reserved each day for linking methods to participants’ own service areas and responsibilities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical familiarity with water supply, sanitation, water resources, infrastructure planning, environmental management or WASH programming. They should be comfortable reading basic tables, maps and simple technical reports, and should understand common water-service terms such as source, treatment, distribution, demand and tariff. Experience with a utility, municipality, NGO, regulator, basin authority or humanitarian programme is useful. Advanced hydrology, engineering design, geographic information systems, programming and climate modelling are not required. The course explains the quantitative methods used and provides structured templates for applying them.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should have practical familiarity with water, sanitation, infrastructure, environmental management or WASH programming. Advanced hydrology, engineering design and climate modelling are not required.

Bring a laptop if possible and any non-confidential data, reports or maps from a water service area you know. Useful materials include demand figures, source information, asset lists, incident reports or existing plans.

It is designed for utility, municipal, WASH, water-resources and climate-adaptation professionals with responsibilities for planning, operations or programme design. It also suits managers who review water infrastructure and adaptation investments.

This course focuses specifically on water supply, sanitation, catchments, groundwater, water quality and service continuity. Participants use water-sector tools such as water balances, Water Safety Plans, drought triggers and non-revenue water analysis.

You can use the templates to assess a service area, identify priority climate risks and compare adaptation options. The final plan provides a structured basis for internal planning, donor discussions, budget requests or consultant terms of reference.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes risk, resource and service assessment methods; the second week covers adaptation design, financing, monitoring and the final capstone plan.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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