Water Resources Planning Training Course

Participants can assess surface-water availability using water-balance components and hydrological records.

• Catchment water balance using precipitation, evapotranspiration, runoff and storage
• River-flow records screened for gaps, outliers and rating-curve changes
• Flow-duration curves used to characterise dependable water availability
• Seasonality analysis distinguishes wet-season peaks from dry-season baseflow
• Safe yield concepts compared with annual average water availability
• Uncertainty ranges documented for incomplete hydrological monitoring records

Participants can evaluate groundwater conditions and identify feasible conjunctive-use strategies.

• Aquifer types, recharge mechanisms and abstraction risks identified
• Groundwater balance estimates recharge, pumping, return flows and storage change
• Piezometric trends interpreted from groundwater-level monitoring time series
• Well interference and drawdown concepts inform abstraction spacing decisions
• Conjunctive use combines surface water, groundwater and seasonal storage
• Protection zones address contamination risks around strategic boreholes

Participants can incorporate water-quality constraints and ecosystem requirements into planning choices.

• Water-quality parameters matched to drinking, irrigation and ecosystem uses
• Pollution source inventories distinguish point sources from diffuse loads
• Environmental flow objectives linked to riverine habitat functions
• Minimum flow rules tested against abstraction and reservoir operations
• Catchment land-use changes assessed for sediment and nutrient effects
• Receiving-water standards incorporated into source-development screening

Participants can construct transparent water-demand forecasts for major user groups.

• Demand categories separate domestic, industrial, irrigation and institutional users
• Population projections translated into household demand and service requirements
• Per-capita consumption assumptions tested against metering and survey evidence
• Irrigation demand estimated from crop calendars, evapotranspiration and efficiency
• Non-revenue water incorporated into urban supply-demand balances
• Demand scenarios reflect growth, conservation, tariffs and service targets

Participants can organise planning evidence into traceable datasets, maps and assumptions registers.

• Data inventory records source, date, scale, owner and reliability
• Metadata standards document collection methods, units and data limitations
• GIS layers organise catchments, infrastructure, users and protected areas
• Thematic maps communicate water availability, demand centres and risk zones
• Assumptions registers link planning calculations to accountable data owners
• Data-quality checks reconcile conflicting figures before scenario modelling

Participants can prepare a diagnostic that connects water resources, users, infrastructure and risks.

• Source-to-user system maps identify critical water dependency pathways
• Water accounts compare available supply, withdrawals, consumptive use and returns
• Infrastructure condition profiles identify capacity, reliability and operational constraints
• Risk registers capture quantity, quality, institutional and climate threats
• Hotspot analysis prioritises sub-catchments requiring targeted interventions
• Diagnostic narratives distinguish evidence, interpretation and unresolved information needs

Participants can design stakeholder engagement and governance arrangements for planning decisions.

• Stakeholder mapping identifies influence, interests, rights and potential conflicts
• Water-rights systems compared across permits, customary claims and allocations
• Participation plans define consultation purpose, timing, methods and feedback
• Gender and social inclusion considerations incorporated into water-user analysis
• Institutional mapping clarifies regulator, operator, basin authority and community roles
• Conflict-resolution pathways address contested abstractions and seasonal shortages

Participants can formulate measurable planning objectives and construct decision-relevant scenarios.

• SMART objectives specify reliability, equity, quality and environmental outcomes
• Planning targets translated into measurable performance indicators and thresholds
• Baseline scenarios represent current demand, supply and operating conditions
• Driver-based scenarios vary population, climate, economy and land use
• Scenario narratives make assumptions visible to decision makers
• Sensitivity analysis tests outcomes against uncertain high-impact variables

Participants can develop allocation rules and demand-management measures for competing water uses.

• Allocation principles rank basic needs, livelihoods, economic uses and ecosystems
• Water-allocation matrices match sources, users, seasons and priority levels
• Permit conditions specify abstraction volumes, monitoring and curtailment requirements
• Drought restriction stages trigger proportionate reductions for user categories
• Demand-management measures include metering, leakage control, tariffs and reuse
• Equity tests assess impacts on vulnerable and unserved populations

Participants can identify and screen supply-side options within a diversified water-security portfolio.

• Source options include reservoirs, boreholes, transfers, reuse and desalination
• Yield estimates distinguish design yield from theoretical resource volume
• Storage options assessed for evaporation, sedimentation and operating rules
• Managed aquifer recharge evaluated using source quality and recharge capacity
• Water reuse options matched to treatment standards and end uses
• Portfolio diversification reduces dependence on single vulnerable water sources

Participants can incorporate climate variability, drought triggers and flood interactions into water plans.

• Climate risk screening identifies exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity
• Historical drought indices compare rainfall deficits and streamflow shortages
• Drought triggers linked to reservoir levels, groundwater and demand indicators
• Climate projections interpreted as planning ranges rather than precise forecasts
• Floodplain management considers storage, recharge and water-quality consequences
• No-regret measures prioritised under uncertain future hydrological conditions

Participants can structure a water-system model and interpret scenario results for planning decisions.

• System schematics represent sources, demands, return flows and storage
• Monthly timestep models balance inflows, losses, withdrawals and releases
• WEAP model concepts organise nodes, links, priorities and constraints
• Reliability metrics measure frequency, duration and magnitude of deficits
• Scenario outputs compared using supply reliability and environmental indicators
• Model limitations documented through calibration assumptions and uncertainty notes

Participants can compare planning options using economic, technical, social and environmental criteria.

• Long lists generated from diagnostic findings and stakeholder proposals
• Screening criteria remove infeasible, unlawful or unacceptable options early
• Multicriteria decision analysis weights reliability, cost, equity and environmental effects
• Life-cycle cost estimates include capital, energy, operations and renewal
• Cost-effectiveness analysis compares unit costs of water saved or supplied
• Prioritisation matrices document rankings, trade-offs and decision rationales

Participants can identify environmental and social risks requiring mitigation, assessment or further study.

• Environmental and social screening identifies material risks before option selection
• Impact pathways cover land acquisition, displacement, livelihoods and biodiversity
• Mitigation hierarchies apply avoidance, minimisation, restoration and compensation
• Cumulative impacts assessed where multiple abstractions affect shared systems
• Grievance mechanisms define access channels, response times and escalation
• Safeguard actions integrated into option costs, schedules and responsibilities

Participants can convert selected options into an implementable, monitored and financed action plan.

• Implementation roadmaps sequence studies, permits, procurement and construction actions
• Responsibility matrices assign accountable owners for each planning action
• Financing strategies combine public budgets, tariffs, grants and development finance
• Monitoring frameworks specify indicators, baselines, targets and reporting frequency
• Water accounting reports track withdrawals, consumption, returns and losses
• Plan review protocols trigger updates after droughts, investments or new evidence

Participants can build, review and present a complete water resources plan for a defined basin, catchment or utility area.

• Planning boundary, decision statement and stakeholder context clearly defined
• Resource and demand evidence assembled into a traceable planning baseline
• Scenarios test future demand, climate risk and source reliability
• Allocation rules and option portfolios address identified supply-demand gaps
• Multicriteria appraisal justifies preferred interventions and implementation sequencing
• Peer review challenges assumptions, risks, indicators and governance arrangements
• Executive presentation communicates recommendations, trade-offs and next decisions